Mentor profit up,excluding items

Mentor Corp., which makes cosmetic and reconstructive surgery products, said its fiscal 2008 first-quarter profit plummeted without sales gains from two discontinued operations.

The Santa Barbara-based company earned $21.7 million, or 48 cents a share, in the quarter ended June 30, compared with $241.4 million, or $4.91, a year earlier. Revenue rose 20% to $95.6 million from $79.4 million.

Mentor sold its urology business and clinical and consumer healthcare units to Denmark’s Coloplast Group in 2006 for $463 million. Excluding the year-earlier gain, the company said, its earnings per share rose 45% to 48 cents from 33 cents.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected profit of 34 cents a share on revenue of $88.4 million.

Breast implants made up the bulk of revenue, accounting for $84.5 million, or a 22% increase from the year-earlier period.