MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 25 -- Spectra-Physics announced that results for the third quarter ended September 30, 1999, were consistent with the company's previously announced revised expectations. Spectra-Physics reported net sales of $34.1 million, compared with $39.7 million for last year's third quarter. The company's book-to-bill ratio for the third quarter of fiscal 1999 was 1.11, compared with 1.19 for the prior quarter and 0.94 for the third quarter of 1998. As announced earlier, Spectra-Physics took special pre-tax charges of $5.7 million in the third quarter; these charges reflected the company's write-off of inventory and other assets, as well as a reduction in workforce, related to optics, high-power semiconductor lasers, and hard-drive disk texturing systems.
In the third quarter, we took actions to focus our business on high-growth opportunities in telecommunications and other strategic markets, said Patrick L. Edsell, Spectra-Physics' chairman, president and CEO. We believe that these actions will enable us to enter the year 2000 from a position of strength.