Psychemedics Corp. (PMD) continued its austerity kick, relying on staffing cuts, pay freezes and reductions in employee retirement plans to offset a 25 percent decline in revenues during the third quarter.
The Acton, Mass.-based maker of hair testing kits to detect drug use said revenues dropped to $4.7 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, a decline of 25 percent from $6.2 million during the same period last year.
Despite the drop-off, Psychemedics managed to triage the damage to its bottom line, reporting a $768,000 profit — off just 12 percent from $874,000 during the same period last year.
For the first nine months of 2009, the drop-off was much more grim. Pyschemedics reported just a $981,000 profit on $12.7 million in sales, compared to $2.8 million on $18 million in sales during the first nine months of last year.
Despite the 65 percent gut punch, chairman and CEO Raymond Kubacki praised the company’s resiliency during the recession, saying in a prepared release that the company managed to stem losses with “reductions in force, changes in certain benefits such as elimination of bonuses, stock grants, and 401k match. We also increased required employee healthcare contributions and implemented salary cuts for all personnel.”