Plant Closure Puts SysteMed in the Red

LAGUNA HILLS —  SysteMed Inc. on Thursday reported a 31% jump in sales for 1992 but posted a loss of $2 million because of a recent decision to close its plant in Ireland.

The company, which provides prescription drugs and manages drug benefit programs for employers and insurance companies, said the Irish facility has been a consistent money-loser. Although a buyer has not been found yet, SysteMed spokeswoman Judith Woodward Archbold said, the company wrote off $3.7 million during the fourth quarter in anticipation of a sale.

The 1992 loss, which equaled 9 cents a share, contrasted with profit of $123,000, or 1 cent a share, for 1991. Annual revenue for 1992 was $117 million, up 30% from $89.8 million for the previous year.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted a loss of $2.9 million, or 13 cents a share, contrasted with a profit of $9,000 for the same period a year earlier. Quarterly revenue was $30.7 million, up 25% from $24.4 million a year earlier.

The company, in discounting the charge against earnings, had a 1992 profit from continuing operations of $2.3 million, or 11 cents a share. That contrasted with a loss of $339,000, or 2 cents a share, for 1991.

For the fourth quarter, earnings from continuing operations were $780,000, or 4 cents a share, contrasted with a loss of $77,000 for the same period a year earlier.

Archbold said the June acquisition of INSURx, an Ohio company that manages prescription drug programs, has been successful, generating $11.6 million of SysteMed’s 1992 revenue.

In Thursday’s trading on the NASDAQ market, SysteMed’s stock closed at $6 a share, up 62.5 cents.