Irvine-Based Premier Laser Secures New Distributor

Premier Laser Systems Inc. said Tuesday that it has found a distributor for its dental lasers, signaling an end to a thorny problem that had sent the company into a financial tailspin.

The Irvine company’s stock moved up nearly 22% after the announcement that Premier reached an agreement with New York-based Becker-Parkin Dental Equipment & Supply Co. to sell Premier’s lines of dental laser systems and related products. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The shares closed at $2.94, up 53 cents. A total of 752,400 shares changed hands, nearly triple the average daily volume over the last three months.

“The market is saying the big brouhaha last year when [Premier] broke up with their distributor is over now,” said John Westergaard, an analyst with Westergaard.com Inc.

In April 1998, the medical laser producer was left in the lurch when its dental laser distributor, Henry Schein Inc., backed out of buying $4.5 million worth of lasers. Premier then revised its sales estimates for that quarter, and its stock price dropped.

This led to a series of securities class-action and shareholder lawsuits alleging misrepresentation of operations and sales. Premier settled the suits in January, agreeing to pay $4.6 million and 2.25 million common shares.

“Ever since the Schein fiasco it’s been a question of rebuilding our image with distributors here,” Premier Chief Executive Colette Cozean said. “Becker-Parkin is a good first step for us because they are a large distributor.”

“Basically, you had a prolonged period of the company coming down,” said analyst John Doss Sr. of Dominick & Dominick. “Then you had what looked like a bottoming out process and now for a change you’ve been having good news from operations that would indicate the company has proven its prospects and is turning.”

In fact, two Food and Drug Administration product approvals also have helped cultivate the company’s image, Doss said. Earlier this month Premier received approval for its BluLaz system for teeth whitening and its Centauri XL system for cavity cutting.

The company is returning to more normal operations “after being under almost a siege environment,” Doss said.