Beckman Posts 5% Increase in Net Income

FULLERTON — Beckman Instruments Inc., a manufacturer of medical equipment, Monday posted annual profits of $38.1 million on sales of $857.9 million, up 5% over 1990.

The results, equal to $1.32 per share, were generally in line with analysts’ expectations, and Beckman stock showed little movement, closing down 12.5 cents at $19.625 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Beckman earned $10.4 million, equal to 37 cents per share, on revenue of $233.7 million, up 3%.

“It was not a surprising quarter,” said Kenneth R. Kulju, an analyst with Rothschild Inc., an investment firm in New York. “We would hope that earnings, moving into 1992, would grow at a faster rate than they have this year.”

Beckman manufactures automated laboratory equipment used for research, quality control and clinical diagnostics. The company said that public funding for life science research instrumentation had declined in 1991 but that its growth came from the clinical diagnostic market.

Beckman also credited several new products for contributing to earnings. These included the Synchron clinical chemistry system for hospitals, the Array 360 protein analyzer for clinical labs, and the XL-A, an analytical ultracentrifuge that has research and biotechnology applications.

Over the past four years, Beckman has trimmed its worldwide work force from 7,300 in 1988 to 6,900 today. However, employment in Orange County has risen from 2,300 in 1988 to 2,700 today.

Beckman’s Performance

In the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Beckman Instruments reported a 5% jump in earnings to $10.4 million. Sales for the quarter grew 3% to $233.7 million.

Figures are in thousands, except per-share data.

4th Qtr 4th Qtr 12 Months 12 Months 1991 1990 1991 1990 Revenue $233,700 $225,800 $857,900 $815,200 Net income (loss) 10,400 10,000 38,100 36,200 Per share (loss) 0.37 0.35 1.32 1.26

Source: Beckman Instruments Inc.