Syncor International Expects Quarterly Loss

Syncor International Corp., a Chatsworth-based supplier of nuclear pharmaceutical products, said it expects to post a loss for the quarter ending Sept. 30.

It cited cost-cutting pressures in the health care industry, stemming from managed health-care providers, as a cause of the loss.

Syncor said it will report a loss of about $1 million on revenues of about $80 million for the quarter. In the three-month period a year earlier, the company earned $3 million on sales of $60.4 million.

Syncor Chief Executive Gene R. McGrevin attributed the expected loss to “the adverse effect health-care suppliers are facing due to the demands for more cost-effective care.” Such pressures, he said, have cut into the company ‘s profit margins, a trend expected to continue through the rest of the year.

Syncor operates a network of 113 nuclear pharmacy centers that supply radioactive pharmaceutical products used to diagnose ailments ranging from heart disease to brain disorders.

Mary L. Meusborn, a Syncor spokeswoman, said the company hopes to return to profitability by moving into still-expanding markets for nuclear pharmaceutical products used to diagnose brain and liver disorders. She said the company may also curtail the number of pharmacists it employs at its centers.