Beckman Coulter Profit Rises 19%; Ceradyne’s Falls

Beckman Coulter Inc., a Fullerton developer of laboratory instruments and supplies, Monday reported first-quarter net income of $28 million, or 43 cents a share, 19% higher than the $23.5 million, or 37 cents, posted for the same period last year.

Sales increased 3% to $446.7million.

Beckman’s chairman, John P. Wareham, noting that the markets the company is in are generally favorable, forecast second-quarter sales to grow about 6% and net earnings to jump as high as 19%.

The strongest-performing product lines last quarter were robotic automation and genetic analysis and immunodiagnostics. Robotic automation and genetic analysis sales grew 20%, while immunodiagnostics sales grew 8%.

Meanwhile, Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc., a manufacturer of technical ceramics, said net income for the first quarter was $579,000, or 7cents a share, a 51% decline from $1.2 million, or 14 cents, for the first quarter of 2001.

Sales rose 24% to a record $14.7million.

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James S. Granelli