Ingenico Q2 sales surge on Sagem acquisition

PARIS, July 23 (Reuters) - French electronic payment systems provider Ingenico (INGC.PA) on Wednesday posted a 32 percent rise in second-quarter sales at 186 million euros ($292.6 million), bolstered by the acquisition of rival Sagem Monetique, and predicted a "sizeable" improvement in profitability in 2008.

Ingenico, which produces small machines to make payments with a debit or credit card, said in a statement that growth will continue in the second half of the year, driven by good business in emerging markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe.

Second-quarter sales were up only 3 percent on a like-for- like basis, excluding changes in the company's scope, said Ingenico, which bought Sagem Monetique from Safran (SAF.PA) in exchange of shares in March.

The second-quarter results consolidated the takeover for the first time.

Ingenico said the integration of Sagem Monetel was going very well, and was even ahead of expected in certain areas.

"(Synergies) will show from the second half, particularly at the levels of purchases, and thanks to the optimisation of research and development spending," Ingenico said.

The group has said it expected to see a marked improvement in net earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 25 million euros as from 2010, mainly from cost savings in procurement, Ingenico said in March. (Reporting by Marie Maitre; Editing by Richard Hubbard)