New Image Earnings Drop; Revenue Up

New Image Industries Inc., a Canoga Park maker of dental cameras and imaging systems, said earnings for its first quarter, which ended Sept. 30, were $148,000, down 78% from $677,000 in the same period last year. The drop came on a 27% increase in revenue to $6.97 million from $5.47 million the previous year.

The company attributed the results to falling prices due to increased competition and to the decline in the value of the dollar against the yen, which made it more expensive for New Image to buy components for its products. Operating expenses were higher because of the expansion of customer service and technical support operations. The company said also it paid higher commissions to sales representatives in the first quarter, further dampening earnings.