Manufacturer News Wire

Financials:

Chad Announces Third Quarter Results: For the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, Chatsworth, Calif.-based Chad Therapeutics reported a net income of $228,000, or 2 cents per diluted share, compared to a net income of $81,000, or 1 cent per diluted share, for the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Revenue for the quarter rose 6 percent, to $4.9 million, compared to revenue of $4.7 million for the same quarter the previous fiscal year.

ResMed Releases Q2 Earnings: For the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, San Diego-based ResMed reported a net income of $10.4 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, compared to a net income of $8.8 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, for the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Revenue for the quarter rose 25 percent, to $65.3 million, compared to revenue of $48.9 million for the same quarter the previous fiscal year.

Viasys Reports Fourth Quarter, Annual Results: For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 28, 2002, Viasys Healthcare of Conshohocken, Pa. reported a net income of $977,000, or 4 cents per diluted share, compared to a net income of $3.5 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, for the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Sales for the quarter were $97.3 million, compared to sales of $88.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2001.

Viasys’ net income for fiscal year 2002 was $5.3 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, compared to a net income of $16.3 million, or 62 cents per diluted share, for fiscal year 2001. Annual revenue was $353.9 million for fiscal year 2002, compared to revenue of $336.3 million in 2001.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Otto Bock Acquires TEC: Pursuing a strategy of “aggressive growth” and investment in “forward-looking technologies,” Minneapolis-based Otto Bock has acquired St. Cloud, Minn.-based TEC Interface Systems, according to Bert Harman, Otto Bock’s president.

TEC develops and manufactures custom and prefabricated liners, suspension sleeves and post-operative products for the prosthetic industry. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Noteworthy

Enteral Nutrition Investigation Will Not Hurt Bottom Line, McKesson Says: San Francisco-based McKesson assured investors Feb. 13 that an Illinois U.S. Attorney’s investigation into the marketing of enteral nutritional products — an investigation of which McKesson’s Medical-Surgical Solutions segment and two McKesson employees are subjects — will not hurt the company’s bottom line.

“McKesson is cooperating with the investigation and responding to a subpoena which has been issued,” the company said, noting that the investigation is industry-wide and involves Medicare’s reimbursement of enteral nutritional products.

CareCentric Could Go Private: John Reed and his son, Stewart Reed, who are majority stockholders in Atlanta-based CareCentric, are leading an investor group that wants to take the company private, CareCentric announced Feb. 4.

The group’s proposal would create a new corporation, Borden Associates, which would merge with CareCentric.

Smaller CareCentric stockholders would receive 55 cents per share, and other CareCentric shares would remain outstanding. These steps would reduce the number of stockholders from 5,500 to 200, leaving CareCentric eligible to terminate its common-stock registration.

CareCentric’s board of directors has formed a special committee to consider the proposal, the company said.

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