O.C. EARNINGS : Birtcher Medical Posts Quarterly Loss

Birtcher Medical Systems Inc., the Irvine manufacturer of surgical products, posted a loss of $947,000, or 10 cents a share, for its third fiscal quarter. That contrasted with a profit of $829,000, or 9 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. Sales for the period ended March 31 were $9.7 million, down from $12.8 million. For the first nine months of the fiscal year, the company’s earnings fell to $150,000, or 2 cents a share, from $429,000, or 5 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. Nine-month sales declined 19% to $33 million from $40.9 million.