PLEASANTON, Calif.--More than $20 million in charges related to its acquisition of Optical Sciences and other expenses led CooperVision parent The Cooper Companies (NYSE: COO) to net losses for both its fourth quarter ended Oct. 31 and the full 2007 fiscal year.

In Q4, Cooper had a net loss of $24.2 million, compared to net income of $13.6 million in last year’s fourth quarter. Total revenues climbed 17 percent (up 14 percent at constant currency rates) to $253.8 million in the period. For the full fiscal year, Cooper’s net loss was $11.2 million, vs. net income of $66.2 million in FY 2006. Total revenues for the year reached $950.6 million, up 11 percent (up 8 percent at constant currency rates).

In the fourth quarter, CooperVision’s revenues were $212.1 million, a 16 percent increase (up 11 percent at constant currency rates). CooperVision had an operating loss of $6.1 million in Q4, vs. operating income of $22.8 million in the same period last year.

CooperVision’s U.S. revenues from soft contact lenses grew 16 period over the comparable period in 2006 and 5 percent over the third quarter of 2007, while the total U.S. CL market grew 4 percent in Q3 and declined 2 percent from the second calendar quarter, a Cooper announcement said.

In Q4, worldwide sales of CooperVision’s core product lines, which account for 72 percent of its soft lens business, were $151.4 million, up 16 percent, the company said.

CooperVision’s fiscal 2007 revenues reached $795.9 million, up 8 percent (up 5 percent at constant currency rates). Cooper’s contact-lens division posted operating income of $57.2 million for the full year, down from $126.6 million in operating income in FY 2006.

Robert Weiss, The Cooper Companies’ chief executive officer, said CooperVision’s Q4 revenues “were strong in all geographic markets, and we outpaced market growth. In 2007, CVI gained market share in spite of its manufacturing capacity limitations with silicone hydrogel and single-use products and now manufacturing capacity for these products is ramping up nicely.”

Added Weiss, “With this increased capacity, we expect to compete effectively in the monthly silicone hydrogel market in the U.S. and look forward to entering the two-week silicone sphere market in the April/May period of 2008, earlier than previously anticipated, and the silicone toric market at the end of the calendar year.”

Looking ahead, The Cooper Companies is now forecasting revenues of from $875 million to $920 million for FY 2008, an increase of 10 percent to 16 percent. Previous forecasts called for revenues of from $855 million to $920 million for next year. ■