Milestone Scientific Q2 revenues down 22%

A decline in international revenue had a negative impact on Milestone Scientific's second-quarter financials. The company reported revenues of $2.5 million for the second quarter of 2011 (end-June 30), down from revenues of $3.2 million for the second quarter of 2010.

Net loss for the second quarter of 2011 was $298,000, compared with net income of $180,000 for the same period in 2010.

However, the company did see a strong increase in instrument sales, according to Leonard Osser, CEO of Milestone.

"The success of our newly implemented marketing strategy in the U.S. is evident in the 96.4% increase in domestic instrument sales to $652,865 in the second quarter of 2011 compared to $332,392 in the same period last year," he stated in a press release.

Domestic handpiece sales declined by 24% to $690,000 in the second quarter of 2011 versus last year, which was attributable to two key factors, Osser added.

"First, sales that would have taken place in the second quarter of this year were pushed up to the first quarter ahead of a price increase of 13.7% that went into effect on April 1, 2011," he said. "The second factor relates to training involved once the instruments are sold. Recurring revenue from handpiece sales typically lags by about two months from the time an instrument is purchased as our hygienists go out into the field to train and support the dentists in their territories. We anticipate a ramp up in handpiece sales in the latter half of 2011 and beyond as we continue to build and train our customer base."

Several dental groups in North America are currently conducting beta tests of Milestone's Single Tooth Anesthesia (STA) system, the company noted.

"These dental practices view our pain-free, computer-controlled injection technology STA system as a profitable new revenue stream and an effective marketing tool for their patients," Osser said. "Dental groups are at the core of our growth initiative, and with an average of 2,000 injections per year per dentist, we believe this is a very lucrative market opportunity."