Trex sale speculation causes corporate earnings to slump

Company won't name potential suitors

Trex Medical president and CEO William Webb blamed his company's low second quarter 2000 earnings on uncertainty among customers and dealers while his company is up for sale.

Trex Medical's revenue for the quarter (end April 1) was $41.4 million, compared to $60.2 million for the quarter in 1999. Net loss for the quarter was $6.6 million, compared to a net loss of $ 4.2 million for the same quarter last year.

The company spent $900,000 on restructuring costs this year, compared with $600,000 last year.

Trex has not been performing well since parent company Thermo Electron, which makes measurement instruments, announced it would seek a buyer for its subsidiary earlier this year.

Adding to its woes, the company lost a breast biopsy table distribution contract with U.S. Surgical and many top executives have left. Trex was expected to be the first U.S. company to receive 510(k) approval for its full-field digital mammography unit, but GE Medical beat it out in the race. Webb has said he hopes Trex can find a buyer in the diagnostic imaging field (SCAN 2/16/00).

Speculation about who will buy Trex abounds in the industry. Caroline Grossman, Thermo Electron spokesperson, said Trex officials would not comment on the sale or elaborate on Trex's second quarter results.