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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Bausch & Lomb Inc., which has agreed to a US$3.67 billion buyout by a private equity firm, yesterday reported a US$15-million profit in the second quarter on higher sales of contact lenses, eye-care medicines and lens cleaners. Rocked last year by the worldwide recall of a multipurpose lens solution, the eye-care products maker earned the equivalent of US27 cents a share. That compared with a loss of US$15.1 million, or US28 cents a share, in last year's April-June quarter. Sales jumped 14 per cent to US$649.5 million from US$571.5 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting a profit of US53 cents a share on sales of US$614.6 million. The stock fell US18 cents to US$62.36 yesterday.
Rick Ankiel’s wild ride
The most inspirational story of the 2007 baseball season is not a scientific marvel's methodical pursuit of a career home run record. The most improbable story of 2007 is not the rise of the Seattle Mariners, or the fall of the Oakland Athletics. The most inspirational, most improbable, most likely-to-be-dramatized-by-a-screenwriter story of 2007 concerns a 28-year-old center fielder for a last-place minor-league team in Memphis. Rick Ankiel was blessed with the precocious talent of Dwight Gooden and cursed by the mysterious mental block that turned Steve Blass from a Cy Young candidate at 30 into an ex-pitcher at 32. Three years removed from the mound, Ankiel has reinvented himself as a modern-day "Smoky" Joe Wood, who in 1918 converted into an outfielder after his arm went dead. "I'd hear fathers tell their kids, 'See that guy over there? That's 'Smoky' Joe Wood, used to be a great pitcher long ago,' " Wood told author Lawrence Ritter in 1966.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-08-08 21:52 GMT: Bausch & Lomb posts $15M profit
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Bausch & Lomb Inc., which has agreed to a $3.67 billion buyout by a private equity firm, on Wednesday reported a $15 million profit in the second quarter on higher sales of contact lenses, eye-care medicines and lens cleaners. Rocked last year by the worldwide recall of a multipurpose lens solution, the eye-care products maker earned the equivalent of 27 cents a share. That compared with a loss of $15.1 million, or 28 cents a share, in last year's April-June quarter. Sales jumped 14 percent to $649.5 million from $571.5 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting a profit of 53 cents a share on sales of $614.6 million. The stock fell 18 cents to $62.36 Wednesday. Contact lens sales grew 10 percent to $192.6 million, driven by higher sales of PureVision silicone hydrogel lenses.
Precious little handful
In many ways, its hard to tell the difference between Abigail Garrison and her sister, Emma, as they crawl around on the floor of their Perry Township home, wearing matching outfits. But at just 16 pounds, 2-year-old Abigail is actually six pounds lighter than her 1-year-old sibling. A closer look reveals the scars that testify to Abigails short but already difficult life. In just two years, Abigail has gone through seven surgeries. When she was born May 20, 2005 just 25 weeks into mom Kimberly Vaughns pregnancy she weighed just 14 ounces. To date, she is the smallest baby ever to be born at Aultman Hospital, and her parents Vaughn and Anthony Garrison speculate she could be one of the smallest born in the area. While petite in body, Abigail is big on ambition.
LASIK eye surgery improving, doctor says
Barry Ohler, 48, Markleton, and Breiann Howsare, 26, Somerset, had something in common: Both have worn glasses or contacts for years.Now they have something else in common: They underwent LASIK eye surgery on Friday at Somerset Hospital. Dr. Daniel Vittone, who has offices in Somerset, Latrobe, Mount Pleasant and Johnstown, performed the procedures. Vittone has been performing LASIK, which stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, surgery for 12 years. He is now using a second-generation surgical laser, the FEMTO LDV manufactured by Ziemer Ophthalmology in Switzerland. The femtosecond surgical laser is portable and is taken from hospital to hospital by technicians. (A femtosecond is one-millionth of a nanosecond, a measurement used by lasers.)Vittone has been using the laser for four months, he said, and was one of the first ophthalmologists in the nation to use it.
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