Beckman Posts Lower Profits and Flat Sales

Beckman Instruments on Tuesday reported flat sales and slightly lower profits for its fourth quarter and year.

For the year ended Dec. 31, the Fullerton-based manufacturer of scientific and diagnostic medical instruments said its sales were $785.9 million, a 2% increase from 1988. Earnings were $41.9 million, compared to $42.5 million a year earlier.

For the quarter, Beckman reported earnings of $10.4 million and sales of $199.7 million, compared to earnings of $11.2 million and sales of $199.1 million during the corresponding period in 1988.

The company attributed its sluggish performance to declining sales to publicly funded laboratories and private firms. Beckman Chairman Louis Rosso said many corporations were spending more on research and development and less on new equipment during the year. He also said publicly funded research labs have slowed spending because of cutbacks in their funding.

Rosso said he expected declining sales in the public sector to continue at least through the first half of this year.

“The instrumentation market in the medical and scientific fields has become somewhat soft,” said Steven Gerber, medical technology analyst with the Los Angeles brokerage Bateman Eichler, Hill Richards.