Sonus refocuses on pharmaceuticals after more losses

Herald staff

BOTHELL — Sonus Pharmaceuticals officials said Thursday they will refocus the company’s efforts on its drug delivery and blood substitute products and that they will drop a new drug application and halt work on the ultrasound contrast product, EchoGen.

Also, the company reported a net loss of $2.2 million, or 24 cents per share, for the third quarter compared to net income of $6.9 million, or 76 cents per share a year ago. For the first nine months of 2000, Sonus reported a net loss of $2.3 million, or 25 cents per share, compared to net income of $2.4 million, or 27 cents per share, a year ago.

Thursday’s prices: Gold sold for $274 a troy ounce, silver for $4.935 and platinum for $591.80.

Jobless claims rise: The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 306,000 for the week ending Oct. 7, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Costco’s numbers improve: Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday net income for the quarter ended Sept. 3 rose to $200.2 million, or 43 cents a share, from $153.2 million, or 33 cents, in the year-ago quarter. Total revenue was $10.6 billion.

Unisys to cut jobs: Unisys Corp. announced plans to cut up to 1,500 jobs in the United States by year end and said quarterly earnings fell to $42.9 million, or 14 cents per share, in the quarter, down from $138.4 million, or 43 cents per share a year ago. Revenue in the quarter declined to $1.7 billion from $1.9 billion a year ago.

GM sales off: GM said Thursday it earned $829 million in the three months ending Sept. 30, compared with $877 million in the same period a year ago. Earnings per share rose from $1.33 to $1.55, as GM continued buying back shares.

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