SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)
October 27, 1999
LCA-Vision Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
Delaware 0-27610 11-2882328
(State or other (Commission (IRS Employer
jurisdiction File No.) Identification Number)
of incorporation)
7840 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (513)792-9292
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Item 5. Other Events
LCA-Vision Inc. issued a press release announcing its successful
launch of "value-priced" LasikPlus.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
(a) Exhibits
99.1 Press Release dated October 27, 1999
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
LCA-VISION INC.
Date: October 28, 1999
-----------------------------
Larry P. Rapp,
Chief Financial Officer
<PAGE>
COMPANY CONTACTS INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS
LCA-Vision Inc. Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
Stephen N. Joffe, Chairman & Bruce Voss ([email protected])
CEO (310) 575-4848
Larry Rapp, VP-Finance & CFO Ruth Abeshaus ([email protected])
(513) 792-9292 (212) 838-3777
Media Contact
Elissa Grabowski ([email protected])
(212) 838-3777
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LCA-VISION SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES "VALUE-PRICED" LASIKPLUS
Company Expects Full-Year 2000 Pre-Tax EPS of $0.40-$0.50
CINCINNATI (October 27, 1999) - LCA-Vision Inc. (NASDAQ NM: LCAV),
a leading U.S.-based provider of laser vision correction services,
today announced that the Company has demonstrated strong growth in
its value-priced LasikPlus centers, bringing LASIK surgery to a
larger customer base by lowering the affordability bar while
maintaining the highest standards of care. LCA-Vision owns and
operates 22 centers, of which the Baltimore and Annapolis,
Maryland, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Columbus, Ohio and California
centers have adopted LasikPlus. The Company plans to convert
additional centers to the LasikPlus model before year-end.
"Based on our research, offering pricing of $2,995 for both eyes -
- - which is significantly less (40%) than the customary $4,500-
$5,000 -- has grown the number of procedures substantially. Our
LasikPlus centers have booked more appointments in their first
weeks of operations than they have in previous months," stated
Stephen Joffe, chairman and chief executive officer of LCA-Vision.
"While the benefits to the patient are obvious, so are the
benefits to LCA-Vision. We realize there are costs associated
with jumpstarting LasikPlus, but the positive impact on next
year's financial results will be tremendous as the Company
increases profitability while maintaining per procedure net
revenue. This is a short-term tradeoff between slight sacrifices
in profitability and gaining market leadership in the future."
For the third quarter ended September 30, 1999, the Baltimore and
Annapolis offices, which only began operations as LasikPlus three
weeks into the quarter, performed 1,629 procedures, compared with
1,178 during the second quarter, an increase of 38%. This
represents an increase of 152% on a same center basis compared
with the 1998 third quarter. Baltimore and Annapolis continue to
generate dramatic increases in incoming call volume at a rate of
3,700 calls achieving 3,000 scheduled appointments and high
surgery conversion rates, all while maintaining the excellent
clinical results and patient satisfaction found in the open-access
LCA-Vision centers. In October of this year, the Company expanded
LasikPlus to its California markets, where same center growth has
exceeded the Company's most aggressive expectations.
"With our new LasikPlus centers, we are experiencing a larger
percentage of younger patients having surgery. In addition, the
length of time taken by prospective patients to have laser vision
correction surgery has shortened. As we expected, we are
broadening the market to include consumers with less disposable
income." stated Joe Dzialo, executive vice president of LCA-
Vision.
While marketing expenditures are expected to continue to increase
for the next two quarters due to the expansion of the LasikPlus
business model, the Company expects these expenditures hereafter
to level off. An anticipated doubling of procedure growth next
year is projected to generate full-year 2000 earnings per share of
$0.40-$0.50 (pre-tax).
LCA-Vision operates laser vision correction centers in the U.S.,
Canada and Europe, which are supported by a network of over 2,200
ophthalmologists and optometrists.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject
to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the
impact of competition and pricing, procedure demand and
marketplace acceptance, and unforeseen fluctuations in operating
results and other risks detailed from time to time in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
