Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. (NSDQ:PMTI) trod a rocky road last year, closing out 2009 with vastly wider net losses and lower sales.
The Burlington, Mass.-based cosmetic laser device maker reported net losses of $8.5 million, or 47 cents per share, on sales of $16.3 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2009. That compared with net losses of just $420,000, or 2 cents per share, on sales of $17.2 million during Q4 2008. Palomar said part of the Q4 2009 losses stemmed from a $5.2 million set-aside for income taxes. Excluding that provision, losses before income taxes were $3.3 million.
Full-year sales were $60.6 million, down 30.8 percent from $87.6 million during 2008. Net losses for 2009 were $10.5 million, or 58 cents per share, compared with $68,000, or zero cents per share, during the prior year. Palomar closed out the year with $107 million in cash and equivalents, including short-term investments.
CEO Joseph Caruso said the austerity measures the company put in place at the beginning of last year paid off, as Palomar managed positive cash flow during 2009. That included a $14.7 million tab for research and development, amounting to 24 percent of total revenues.
And despite the cancellation of a deal with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to develop an over-the-counter anti-wrinkle device, Caruso said plans to move ahead with its OTC product are moving ahead.
“We are planning strategic investments during 2010 to set up high-volume manufacturing, marketing and branding of our products and will work toward establishing distribution in a number of channels. These are the first steps in creating long-term value with our core technology in the consumer market," Caruso said in prepared remarks.
