QUANTUM : Quantum Health Reports Profits Grew 62% in Quarter for Record Gain

Citing increased demand for its exclusive treatments of blood diseases, Quantum Health Resources Inc. said Wednesday that it has posted record earnings and revenue for both the third quarter and the first nine months of the year.

“We are having a great year,” said chief executive Douglas H. Stickney. “We are enjoying an awful lot of sales momentum right now.”

Quantum, which specializes in treating patients with rare, chronic diseases and disorders, also announced that it has paid $1.8 million to a rival home health care company to settle a lawsuit.

Net income for the third quarter ending Sept. 30 was $2.7 million, or 20 cents a share, up 62% from $1.7 million, or 13 cents a share, from a year ago.

Third-quarter revenue was $31.4 million, up 43% from $22 million for the same period a year ago.

Stickney attributed the higher earnings to a strategy of controlling expenses at the Orange-based home health care company.

He credited the increased revenue largely to demand for its in-home protein replacement treatment for patients suffering from leukemia, genetic emphysema, hemophilia and other blood- and marrow-related diseases and disorders.

For the first nine months, net income doubled, to $7.28 million, or 53 cents a share, from $3.63 million, or 30 cents a share, for the same period last year. Nine-month revenue was $83.4 million, up 46% from revenue of $57.2 million for the same period a year ago.

Quantum also said that an 18-month-old lawsuit against the company by its competitor, Caremark Corp., which is a subsidiary of Baxter International, has been settled. Caremark, based in Deerfield, Ill., sued the company, the board of directors and several officers, saying that the Quantum officers had violated non-competitive clauses they signed when they left Caremark.

Caremark said that Stickney and another director were in violation of their non-compete contracts when they started Quantum in 1988. The suit was filed in April, 1991.

Stickney, citing the settlement agreement, declined to comment on the clause or details of the settlement.

Without admitting guilt, Quantum agreed to pay $1.8 million. Caremark had asked for more than $5 million, according to a filing by Quantum. The payment will show up as a charge-off against fourth-quarter net income.

Despite the strong earnings report, Quantum stock closed down 12.5 cents from the previous day to $24.625 a share on the NASDAQ market.