Trimedyne of Tustin Reports $546,000 Loss

After eight consecutive quarters of profits, Trimedyne Inc., a Tustin company that makes laser devices to open blocked arteries, reported a loss of $546,000 for its third quarter ended June 30.

Third-quarter revenue was $7.13 million, down from $8.3 million for the same quarter of fiscal 1988.

Trimedyne had net income of $1.49 million for the third quarter a year ago. Net income for the first nine months of 1989 was $929,000, down from $3.75 million for the first nine months of fiscal 1988, although revenue rose to $26.6 million from $20.65 million for the same period.

Howard Cooper, Trimedyne’s president and chief executive officer, attributed the third-quarter sales decline to growing competition.

While Trimedyne was the first to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market a laser for treating blocked arteries in legs, he said, another company recently obtained FDA approval for a similar application, and other companies are developing competing technologies.

In addition, Cooper said the company’s loss reflects a heftier investment in research and development and expansion of its work force.

He denied that slipping sales are the result of a report presented in June by Dr. Martin Harrington of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York to a meeting of the International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery. The report concluded that using a laser catheter in a laboratory can lead to complications.

Jeff Kilpatrick, an analyst with Newport Securities, said he still believes that Trimedyne has “huge potential,” and he is encouraged that the company is stepping up its research and development.

He said, however, that the future of the company will depend on whether its officers “can make the transition from solving artery problems in the leg to unblocking arteries around the heart, which is a much larger market.”

Cooper said the company plans late this year to submit an application to the FDA for approval to market its laser catheter as an alternative to open-heart surgery.