TomoTherapy Falls As 1Q Loss Expands, Orders Slip

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of TomoTherapy Inc. slumped Wednesday after the radiation therapy device maker posted disappointing first-quarter results and cut its sales forecast for the year.

TomoTherapy reported a deeper loss and less revenue than analysts expected, and also said its backlog of orders decreased compared with the first quarter of 2008. In afternoon trading, its shares fell 22 cents, or 8.4 percent, to $2.41.

The Madison, Wis., company sells a therapy system called Hi-Art, which can spiral around a patient to deliver more direct doses of radiation to a tumor. Like many hospital equipment makers, TomoTherapy said its results are being hurt as its customers delay or cancel orders due to the U.S. recession.

The company posted a loss of $13 million, or 26 cents per share, from a loss of $6.2 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 21 percent to $30.6 million from $38.9 million.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 25 cents per share on $31.7 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.