Bausch & Lomb posts fall in 2006 profits

Bausch & Lomb reported a drop in annual profit of 22 per cent in 2006 in its delayed annual report with federal regulators.

The recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc was pinpointed in explaining falling sales to $2.29bn from $2.35bn, and a 21 per cent fall in revenue from lens care products.

For the fourth quarter of 2006, earnings were $15.4m compared with $53.8m in 2005. On top of annual sales of lens care products down to $413.8m from $522.2m in 2005, contact lens sales dropped from $728.5m to $710m.

In the company report, B&L said that sales of contact lenses constituted 31 per cent of its total revenues in 2006. It added: 'We expect the contact lens category to be a growth driver over the next several years, due to our strong portfolio of speciality contact lenses and the market's conversion to contact lenses made of silicone hydrogel materials which should continue to benefit the PureVision brand.'