Santa Ana-based Advanced Medical Optics Inc. on Friday said its fourth-quarter earnings, its last as an independent public company, beat Wall Street’s expectations.
Advanced Medical, a maker of eye surgery devices and contact lens solutions, is being bought for $2.8 billion by Abbott Laboratories of suburban Chicago. That deal is expected to close by the end of March.
Advanced Medical swung to a $25.1 million fourth-quarter profit from a $12.3 million net loss a year earlier.
The company said its earnings were increased by $14.4 million because of certain items, including a gain associated with early debt retirement.
Analysts expected Advanced Medical to make $8.8 million in the quarter.
Quarterly sales fell 6.4% to $285.2 million, but beat Wall Street’s expectations of $282.9 million.
Growth in cataract surgery, the company’s largest business, and contact lens solutions was offset by a 24.8% drop in laser vision correction sales.
Laser vision, which patients pay for out of their own pockets, has fallen off because of the economic slowdown.
