Trimedyne Posts Loss of $145,000 for First Quarter

Trimedyne Inc. said it lost $145,000 in its fiscal 1987 first quarter ended Dec. 31. In the year-ago period, the Santa Ana maker of medical lasers lost $187,000.

Revenue for the quarter was $2 million, up 79.5% from $1.1 million in the first quarter of the company’s fiscal 1986.

The company attributed the quarterly loss to research costs related to two laser devices for treating heart and leg atherosclerosis. Michael Henson, Trimedyne’s president, said the company also began building a sales and marketing organization to prepare for the May introduction of its Laserprobe-PLR catheter, a non-surgical device for treating cardiovascular disease.

Henson said he expects that research and development costs will bring similar losses in the second quarter but that losses should be lower by the fiscal 1987 third quarter.