Dow Jones Newswires -- July 28, 1998
Intermagnetics Sees 4Q Net Income Up 20%
Or More
By Gaston F. Ceron
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Intermagnetics General Corp. (IMG) expects
to show improved revenue and earnings Wednesday, when it reports results
for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998 ended May 31.
Chairman and Chief Executive Carl Rosner told Dow Jones Intermagnetics
expects to report net income "at least 20% higher" than the $711,000 the
company earned during the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997. Earnings per share
will be "maybe a penny more" than the 6 cents a share reported a year ago,
since the company has more shares outstanding.
Revenue is expected to come in around $27 million, a 5% improvement
over the $25.6 million reported for the year-ago period. Rosner said
operating income should rise around 40%, an increase that didn't translate
directly to the bottom line because of a higher provision for income taxes
and write-offs from losses in investments.
Rosner was satisfied with the company's performance, which he hopes will
help usher in a period of higher growth and profitability. "We are actually
very pleased, both with the quarter and with the year, in that it sort of
represents a turnaround for us," he said.
The Latham, N.Y., company, which was founded in 1971 as a spin-off
from General Electric Co. (GE), manufactures superconducting magnets,
wire and cable, and low-temperature refrigeration equipment and
radio-frequency coils. Its products include a refrigerant, Frigc FR-12, to
replace freon gas in automotive air-conditioning systems, and magnetic
devices, including a magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, system, which
can be used for inspection and quality control in foods.
The bulk of Intermagnetics' sales and earnings comes from the magnetic
devices. Rosner said the nonfreon coolant has been held up by a number of
factors, including a rival alternative to freon, known as R134A. He also said
he thinks auto companies are pushing customers to use the freon that is still
available.
Freon is banned from production in the U.S. and can't be imported.
Additionally, concerns had been floated in previous years about Frigc's
safety, with some worrying that the product may be flammable. Rosner said
he thinks these concerns have been laid to rest. Frigc, he said, has been
found to be "absolutely nonflammable."
Rosner still hopes Frigc will take off as more customers warm up to it. The
product, he says, cools faster, better and more efficiently than any
alternative. "We have some tremendous testimonials of how satisfied people
are," Rosner said.
Amex-listed Intermagnetics was unchanged at 8 9/16, on volume of 9,700
shares, compared with average daily volume of 26,900 shares.
-Gaston F. Ceron; 201-938-5166
gaston.ceron@cor.dowjones.com
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