Acuson fiscal 1995 income plummets

Ultrasound vendor Acuson saw net income dive in fiscal 1995, buthigher international revenues helped to soften the blow of a 13%decline in U.S. sales.

The Mountain View, CA, firm reported sales of $328.9 millionin its 1995 fiscal year (end-December), down 6% from the $350.5million reported in fiscal 1994. Net income for the year was $7.1million compared with $18.3 million the previous year.

The results reflect Acuson's growing reliance on internationalsales. The company reported that 37% of its net sales originatedfrom its non-U.S. customers in 1995, compared with 31.7% in 1994.In the fourth quarter of 1995, 40% of its net sales came fromcustomers outside the U.S.

Acuson officials saw signs in its fourth-quarter results suggestingthat the U.S. general imaging market is stabilizing. CEO SamuelMaslak was pleased with fourth-quarter revenues of $83.6 million,a slight jump from the $83.3 million reported in the same periodthe year before. He credited the increase to positive worldwideacceptance of the ART/TCR upgrade, which was delivered to customersfor the first time in the fourth quarter.