Thursday May 15 2:59 PM EDT
Company Press Release
Source: Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc.
Palomar Announces Dan Valente as New CEO; First-Quarter
Financial Results, Stock Buy-Back
BEVERLY, Mass., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:PMTI) today announced
that its Board of Directors named board member Louis P. (Dan) Valente as Palomar's new Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) and President effective immediately. Former co-founder and CEO Steven Georgiev will retain his current
position as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Additionally, Michael H. Smotrich, Ph.D., co-founder and formerly
Palomar's President, was named Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and the company's Chief Technical Officer
(CTO).
``I and all members of our board are very pleased that Dan has accepted the CEO position,'' said Georgiev. ``I have
known Dan for nearly ten years and there is no doubt that our company will benefit greatly from his extensive
experience and proven managerial skills.''
Valente said, ``All of us in the Palomar family of companies are grateful to Steve Georgiev for his valuable
contributions as CEO during the past few years. Steve possesses a vision of Palomar as the leading worldwide
organization in the multi-billion dollar cosmetic laser market, and we are now well positioned to accomplish that goal.
We are pleased that we will continue to benefit from his leadership and expertise in his continuing role as Chairman of
the Board.
``This management reorganization is the natural evolution of Palomar from a research and development organization
into a revenue-producing company whose objective is to achieve and sustain profitability, as well as increase
shareholder value. Our strategy is to successfully commercialize our medical laser products by selling and marketing
our FDA-cleared cosmetic lasers and establishing revenue-sharing partnerships with clinical partners worldwide.''
Valente added, ``As Palomar's new CEO, I look forward to the challenge of cost-effectively managing our growth
and instilling financial discipline at all levels of the organization so that our projected revenue increases will be positively
reflected in the bottom line. I am confident that our strong management team will work cohesively to implement this
strategy and enable Palomar to enhance its position as one of the premier cosmetic laser companies in the world.''
Valente formerly was a Senior Vice President and Officer at EG&G, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in
Wellesley, Mass., where he supervised and negotiated acquisitions and mergers. He held a variety of positions at
EG&G since 1968, including Vice President of Corporate Development and Corporate Treasurer. While there, he
established a number of subsidiary companies, including a leasing corporation, and also supervised the operations of
several hydroelectric projects and the venture capital portfolio. Before joining EG&G, Valente held various positions
in government, private corporations and public accounting. Dan and his wife Jeanne reside in Weston, Massachusetts.
Palomar also reported that revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 1997, increased 191 percent to
$20,126,438, compared with revenues of $6,925,001 during the three months ended March 31, 1996. Palomar also
reported a loss for the quarter ended March 31, 1997, of ($15,365,145), or ($0.50) per share, compared with a loss
of ($7,369,462), or ($0.33) per share, for the previous year's first quarter.
Valente commented, ``We attribute our first quarter loss mainly to three factors: the minimal revenue effect of FDA
clearance for our Epilaser(TM) hair removal system since it was announced with just three weeks left in the quarter;
lower than anticipated volume from our electronics businesses; and start-up costs associated with our revenue-sharing
business. In addition, the company has reserved an additional $2.5 million, or $0.11 per share, for possible costs
associated with litigation matters.''
Palomar also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the company to buy up to 1,000,000 shares of its
common stock from time to time over a one-year period on the open market through brokered transactions. The
timing and amounts of purchases will be governed by applicable Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules
and market conditions.
Valente said, ``We believe that the current common stock price does not nearly reflect the value of our business or the
substantial growth prospects of our cosmetic laser products and services. Therefore, we may use a portion of excess
cash reserves to purchase Palomar common stock since we believe this to be advantageous to the company and its
shareholders.''
Additionally, Palomar also announced that its Cosmetic Technology International, Inc. (CTI) subsidiary negotiated a
termination of the Equimed, Inc. (Nasdaq:EQMD - news) revenue-sharing agreement, the terms of which remain to be
enforced. CTI and Medical Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq:MAII) are also engaged in litigation regarding a revenue-sharing
agreement, and have agreed to face-to- face settlement discussions.
``The company continues to focus on its cosmetic product and service business,'' Valente said. ``We are realizing the
value of our electronics business by establishing them as stand-alone publicly funded companies. The first step was the
successful IPO of Nexar (Nasdaq:NEXR) in April 1997.''
The condensed consolidated statement of income for the company follows:
PALOMAR MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
March 31 March 31
1997 1996
Revenues $20,126 $6,925
Net (loss) ($15,365) ($7,369)
Net (loss) per share ($0.50) ($0.33)
Weighted-average number
of shares used in computation
of per-share net income 31,037 22,239
``Safe Harbor'' Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain
forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters
herein described, including but not limited to product demand and market acceptance, the effect of economic
conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, governmental regulations, results of litigation, technological
difficulties and/or other factors outside the control of the company, which are detailed from time to time in the
company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-KSB/A-2 for the year ended December 31, 1996.
Palomar news releases are available through PR Newswire Company News on-Call by fax at 800-758-5804,
Extension 107555, or prnewswire.com. Palomar's home page address is
palmed.com.
SOURCE: Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc. |
