LAWSUIT LOWERS VARIFLEX PROFITS.Byline: Robert Monroe Staff Writer MOORPARK - The effects of a patent infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. lawsuit and product recall added up to a fourth-quarter and year-end loss for sports equipment maker Variflex Inc., the company reported Monday. For the fourth quarter through July, the Moorpark-based company reported a loss of $2.18 million, or 47 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , on revenues of $17.6 million. This compares with net income of $246,000 or 4 cents a share on sales of $7.5 million in the fiscal 1999 fourth quarter. The quarterly loss reflects the anticipated costs of Variflex's voluntary recall of 150,000 skating skating: see ice skating; ice dancing; roller skating. skating Sport in which bladelike runners or sets of wheels attached to shoes are used for gliding on ice or on surfaces other than ice. helmets, announced earlier this month, and the sale of the company's bond portfolio. The company is waiting for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to approve the recall. The X-Games helmets, made for Variflex by a third party, do not comply with federal safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities or processes, etc. They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. , company officials have said. Officials also have said the company spent a substantial amount of money to settle a lawsuit brought by International E-Z E-Z Engdahl-Zigangirov (bound) Up. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. E-Z Up claimed that instant canopies made by Variflex infringed on E-Z Up's patent and that the packaging of Variflex's product made it prone to confusion with E-Z Up's product. ``We are looking forward to the next fiscal year where we can continue to press on with the goal of increasing revenue,'' said Variflex's board chairman, Mark Siegel, ``without the drain we've experienced over the last couple of years with ongoing patent litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. .'' For fiscal year 2000, Variflex posted a net loss of $1.98 million, or 39 cents per diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. share, on revenues of $55.2 million. The figures compare with net income in fiscal 1999 of $803,000, or 14 cents a share, on revenues of $37.4 million. The company's stock was unchanged at $4.50 a share Monday in light Nasdaq trading. |
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