BIOLASE Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLTI), a medical technology company focused on pain-free medical and dental procedures, has been named one of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in Orange and San Diego counties, California, by Deloitte & Touche's TECHNOLOGY FAST 50 program for the third year in a row. As a result of this achievement, the company will be honored at a formal presentation at the La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA on October 7. Also, BIOLASE will be profiled in a special report distributed by the Orange County and San Diego Business Journals the week of October 14. Fred Poska, partner, Media & Communications Group, Orange Country office of Deloitte & Touche, commented, "In today's economy, double and triple digit growth is an exceptional accomplishment. We commend BIOLASE for making the commitment to technology and delivering the promise of market longevity. We are proud to honor BIOLASE as a Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 50 winner."
BIOLASE was selected by a coalition of Orange County and San Diego business leaders, spearheaded by Deloitte & Touche, based on the strength of its technology and its percentage of revenue growth. In 2000 and 2001, BIOLASE was also named as one of the 50 fastest growing technology companies and as one of the 500 fastest growing U.S. technology companies by Deloitte & Touche's "2001 Technology Fast 500" program.
BIOLASE has experienced significant growth since 1999. For the past seven quarters, the company has consistently exceeded the prior-year same quarter sales by more than 50%. BIOLASE reached and crossed the threshold of profitability ahead of schedule and has continued posting growing profits now for four consecutive quarters. BIOLASE has projected, and is on track to achieve, $27 million in sales in 2002, up from $1.4 million in 1998. For the six months ended June 30, 2002, sales climbed 67% to $12.4 million from $7.4 million in the prior-year period and the company reported its fourth consecutive quarter of profitability. For the six months ended June 30, 2002, net income was $788,000 compared to a net loss of $920,000 in the comparable period of 2001.
Jeffrey W. Jones, BIOLASE CEO and president, noted, "We are honored to be named to the Technology Fast 50 program again. BIOLASE's growth is evidence of the clinical importance and ever-growing market demand for our Waterlase Hydrokinetic and LaserSmile technologies to general dentists, specialists and, most importantly, their patients.
"BIOLASE is the dominant player in the dental laser market and we have successfully ignited dentistry into a fast growth market. With 550,000 dentists in the developed world, with a mere 5% market penetration, this market could produce over $1 billion in sales. BIOLASE has changed the landscape of dentistry with numerous and far reaching FDA clearances, such as for bone and root canal procedures, and patents related to pain-free medical and dental procedures."
About BIOLASE
BIOLASE Technology, Inc. ( http://www.biolase.com ) is a medical technology company that manufactures and markets advanced dental, cosmetic, aesthetic and surgical products, including Waterlase(TM) (Hydrokinetic(R)) surgical cutting systems, LaserSmile(TM) and other advanced laser and non-laser products for the medical market. The Company's products incorporate patented and patent-pending technologies in the pursuit of painless surgery. BIOLASE is a leading provider of painless hard and soft tissue dental laser technology.
This press release and earnings conference call may contain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date hereof and are based upon the information available to us now. Such information is subject to change and we will not necessarily inform you of such changes. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, a downturn or leveling off of demand for our products, the loss of a key distributor, the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control efforts, the availability and pricing of competing products and technologies, intellectual property disputes and other factors detailed in BIOLASE's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its prior filings on Form 10K and Form 10Q.