SMART Technologies announces Q3 results

SMART Technologies has announced record third-quarter shipments of over 100,000 SMART Board interactive whiteboards the largest number of units the industry leader has shipped in any single quarter.

Globally, for all market segments, SMART’s share for Q3 was 57.4 percent, up seven points from Q2, as reported by Futuresource Consulting, a leading global research company that has tracked interactive whiteboard shipments for over eight years. Futuresource also identifies SMART as the global leader in the K12 market segment with a 57.1 percent share, an increase of almost seven points from the previous quarter.

Year-to-date results from Futuresource show that SMART has a 055 percent category share, up more than eight points from 2007. The company entered Q3 with a substantial order book and increased production to meet demand within the quarter. Orders were strong throughout Q3 and leading into Q4.

Futuresource named SMART as the clear leader in all interactive whiteboard product categories. For example, SMART shipped 67 percent of all interactive whiteboard systems (which integrate an interactive whiteboard and short-throw projector) in Q3, nearly 41 points higher than its closest competitor. For screen sizes larger than 65″ (165 cm) on the diagonal, SMART’s Q3 global share was 57.2 percent, which is up more than 16 points from Q3 in 2007 and was more than double its closest competitor. In the United States, which is the largest and most rapidly growing interactive whiteboard market in the world, SMART earned a 66.6 percent product category share in Q3, up 15.2 points from Q2. In the U.S. interactive whiteboard systems category (integrated interactive whiteboard and short-throw projector), SMART’s share in Q3 was 70.6 percent, almost three times greater than its closest competitor. In the United Kingdom, the world’s most advanced interactive whiteboard market, SMART had a 61.2 percent category share, up from 57 percent in Q2.

In the Middle East and Africa as well SMART emerged as the leader with a 35.8 percent share in Q3, up from 24.8 percent in Q2.

“Results from Futuresource confirm SMART’s significant global leadership across all models of interactive whiteboards,” said Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “Record shipments in the third quarter reflect the value that our customers place on SMART products, resources, services and support – a combination that clearly works for our customers and indicates why SMART leads this category.”

Jeevan Bhingarkar, Director, Intmark Distribution, SMART’s authorised Middle East distributor, said, “SMART”s market leadership in the Middle East comes as no surprise to us given the steadily increasing demand we have been witnessing for SMART’s range of products, especially the interactive whiteboards. Looking ahead, we are confident that SMART will maintain the same momentum in the months ahead.”