business

American Medical Systems Holdings Inc. released preliminary sales of $146 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, a 9 percent increase over sales of $134 million in the comparable quarter of 2008. The weakening of the U.S. dollar compared with the fourth quarter of 2008 positively affected revenue comparisons for the quarter by $3.9 million. Adjusting for the positive impact of the weaker U.S. dollar results in fourth-quarter growth of 6.1 percent over the same period last year. Preliminary fourth-quarter revenue of $146 million exceeds the company's guidance issued in November of $136 million to $142 million. Preliminary sales for 2009 were reported at $519.3 million, a 3.5 percent increase over sales of $501.6 million for 2008. The company will report full earnings on Feb. 16.

ATS Medical Inc., Plymouth, announced that it expects fourth-quarter 2009 revenues in the range of $18.4 to $18.8 million, compared with revenue of $18.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, which represents growth of approximately 2 to 4 percent. Preliminary annual revenue is estimated at approximately $75.4 to $75.8 million, an increase of approximately 15 percent vs. 2008, compared with prior guidance for 2009 of $77.0 to $79.0 million. The company also announced that its preliminary revenue growth expectation for 2010 is in the range of 8 percent to 10 percent. The company will report full earnings in mid-February.

Hutchinson Technology Inc., Hutchinson, reported preliminary results for its fiscal 2010 first quarter ended Dec. 27. Net sales for the quarter totaled $108.3 million, compared with $103.2 million in the preceding quarter and $119.7 million in its fiscal 2009 first quarter. Net income for the fiscal 2010 first quarter is expected to be modestly above break-even. The company plans to report its fiscal 2010 first-quarter results on Jan. 26.

Lawson Software, St. Paul, completed its acquisition of Healthvision Solutions Inc. through the acquisition of privately held Quovadx Holdings Inc., Healthvision's parent holding company. Healthvision is a Dallas-based company providing integration and application technology and related services to hospitals and large health care organizations and was a portfolio company of Battery Ventures. The $160 million all-cash transaction closed on Monday.

Zareba Systems Inc., Plymouth, has signed a definitive agreement to merge with a subsidiary of Woodstream Corp. of Lititz, Penn. Zareba shareholders will receive $9 in cash for each outstanding share of Zareba common stock. Woodstream makes a broad range of branded consumer products. Woodstream is majority owned by private equity firms Brockway Moran & Partners Inc. and Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC.

Ecolab Inc., St. Paul, has developed a new cleaning solution, Exelerate ZTF, to help food manufacturers with the growing problem of cleaning zero trans fat food oil residue from processing equipment and environmental surfaces. The gelled product application clings to equipment and surfaces to dissolve zero trans fat soils, making it easier to clean hard-to-reach areas, including fryer hood vents, walls, ceilings and plant catwalks.

Ingenix, a UnitedHealth Group company, Minnetonka, introduced an interest-free loan package meant to help health care organizations purchase its electronic health record system.

Polaris Industries Inc., Medina, introduced a new Ranger RZR 4 side-by-side vehicle, the industry's first four-seat Sport Side-by-Side. The vehicle was designed with the cooperation of Nascar and off-road driver Robby Gordon.

Stratasys Inc., Eden Prairie, introduced uPrint Plus, an enhanced version of its best-selling 3D printer, Dimension uPrint. The uPrint Plus is scaled for desktop use and can build models in an 8-by-8-by-6-inch envelope.

DataCard Group Inc., Minnetonka, announced that John Di Leo is joining the company as its senior vice president of global sales and service. Di Leo was most recently a regional vice president for NCR. DataCard also announced that Wim TappijGielen, currently Datacard Group's senior vice president of global sales, will assume the new role of senior vice president, government business development and head up a team that will focus on global government applications including national ID, passport, driver's license and other secure government identification applications.