Analogic buys Canton firm, reports earnings

Baggage goes through an Analogic Cobra automatic explosive detection system at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. (AP photo)

Analogic Corp. of Peabody said today it has agreed to buy privately held Copley Controls Corp. of Canton for about $69 million.

Separately, an Associated Press story noted that Analogic also reported today that its second-quarter profit rose 32 percent on higher demand for its products.

Analogic is high-tech medical equipment company that makes health and security imaging products; it estimates its power supplies are used by about half the magnetic resonance imaging systems operating in the world today. Analogic reported employing 1,500 people and taking in revenue of $341 million for its most recent fiscal year. Copley Controls, with estimated revenue in 2007 of $83 million, is a supplier of gradient amplifiers for MRI and precision-motion control systems.

The transaction is expected to close in early April. Analogic will pay up to an additional $1.8 million to reimburse Copley shareholders for the tax consequences of the transaction.

According to the AP story, Analogic earned $7.1 million, or 54 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Jan. 31, compared with $5.4 million, or 39 cents per share, for the same period in fiscal 2007.

Revenue rose 13 percent to $99.4 million from $88.4 million in the year-ago period; analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 53 cents per share on $95.9 million in revenue, the AP said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)