IMAT.... Exceeds Analyst's Expectations...
Dow Jones Business News -- November 13, 1996
Imatron Puts 3Q Net At 1c A Share Vs Year Ago 6c Loss
By RALPH KING
Dow Jones News Services
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Imatron Inc. (IMAT) expects to report
third-quarter net income of about $800,000, or a penny per share, reversing
a year-ago loss on growing sales of machines that detect indicators of
heart disease, S. Lewis Meyer, president and chief executive officer, told
Dow Jones.
The results compare with a net loss of $3.1 million, or 6 cents per share,
a year earlier. Revenues more than tripled to between $8.8 million and $8.9
million, from $2.7 million, Meyer said.
Included in latest quarter is a one-time gain of $1.7 million from the sale
of Imatron's interest in Invision Technologies Inc. (INVN), a maker of
bomb-detection gear used in airports. The year-ago period included a $4
million gain from the restructuring of a sales agreement with Germany's
Siemens AG, which markets Imatron's machines in North America and Europe.
The results also reflect Imatron's $554,000 share of net losses at its
48.3% owned affiliate HeartScan Imaging Inc. A year ago, when Imatron held
100% of the operator of diagnostic centers that are equipped with its
scanners, the HeartScan-related net loss was $293,000.
Imatron sold four units of its ultrafast computed tomograghy, or CT, heart
scanners in the latest period. ''I wouldn't say we are happy with that
number but obviously we are moving in the direction where we are starting
to sell more machines. We are starting to see signs that the market is
waking up,'' Meyer said.
Imatron is likely to sell roughly 20 units in 1997, up from an estimated 15
units in 1996, Meyer said. The scanners are priced at between $1.8 million
and $2.2 million.
Some of these sales will come from the anticipated opening of six HeartScan
centers next year, up from five currently operating. In addition, interest
in the machines is growing among international buyers, Meyer noted.
Much of that market interest has been fueled by research studies indicating
that the scanner can predict coronary heart disease among people over 40
years of age with symptoms or known risks. The device is able to detect
calcium deposits that clog arteries in many patients who subsequently
suffer from heart disease. Some medical experts have warned that the device
should not be used to screen the general population.
The company is scheduled to release earnings tomorrow. |
