KANATA, Ontario, May 6 -- GSI Lumonics Inc. reported financial results for the three months ended April 2, 1999. In accordance with US accounting practices and in reflection of the merger of Lumonics and General Scanning, results are primarily those of Lumonics and only include a 10-day period of combined sales and earnings. These factors having been taken into account, sales for the first quarter of 1999 were $38.6 million, which figure is essentially unchanged from the $39.1 million in sales recorded in the first quarter of 1998.
Sales volumes continued to be adversely affected by a combination of market factors, including lower backlog at the start of the first quarter, soft markets for semiconductors and in Asia, and weak demand in the automotive and aerospace fields. Gross profit for the first quarter of 1999 was $7.5 million (19% margin), as compared with the $13.2 million (34% margin) reported in the first quarter a year ago.