Is LANZ turning things around, or is this just fluff? They've been a drag to BMRA over the last year or so, so I remain skeptical. Also, I'll believe their stock buy-back when I see it (which I won't because its hard to know when a company is actually buying).
SAN MARCOS, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Lancer Orthodontics, Inc. (Nasdaq: LANZ) today said that earnings for the first 10 months of the current fiscal year ending May 31, 1998, have increased by more than 11 percent over the pervious fiscal year.
"We expect to exceed last year's profit by a considerable margin due to a solid increase in current orders," said Doug Miller, President and COO of Lancer Orthodontics.
Lancer Orthodontics attributes the increase in orders to new distribution partners and its strategy to more effectively market in the important Dental Health Management Organizations (DHMO) market segment, which is the managed care portion of the orthodontics industry.
"We now see proof that the distribution strategies we implemented during the fiscal year are positively impacting sales and earnings," Miller said. "We see a considerable upside for Lancer in becoming more involved in marketing with these distribution partners and to the DHMOs in the future."
Lancer Orthodontics also recently announced two new products to reduce orthodontic treatment time by up to 50 percent. The products are expected to increase sales by over 15 percent incrementally during the first year of introduction.
In addition the company has retired all its long-term debt and capital lease obligations. Assuming that revenues and expenses are consistent with earlier period results, these debt reductions are anticipated to result in approximately a 40 percent increase in cash flow over the next 12 months, Miller said |
