Undaunted by a $4 million loss for 1996, LCA-Vision Inc. is launching the next phase of its expansion, opening at least 15 more laser-eye surgery centers nationwide by early 1998.
To fund the expansion, the Cincinnati company Monday said it hired a New York investment banker, which it did not identify, to arrange a $12 million private placement of LCA stock.
Friday, LCA reported it lost $4.1 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with a gain of $178,000, or 2 cents a share, the prior year.
Revenue for 1996 fell to $13.7 million from $13.8 million as LCA transformed from being almost entirely a hospital-based consultant to a chain of surgery centers.
Dr. Stephen Joffe, LCA's chief executive, said the results were better than expected given LCA's start-up of the free-standing centers.
''Having rolled out 17 new centers (in 1996), we were projecting much higher losses,'' he said.
''Several of the centers are beginning to break even already, which is once again ahead of projections,'' he added. ''As a company, if we stopped doing the rollout, we'd be profitable. But we're in a Catch-22 if we stop.''
LCA specializes in the use of photorefractive keratectomy, or PRK, eye surgery, which was endorsed by regulators in late 1995.
Thursday, the company is opening its 18th center,in the Akron/Youngstown/Canton region.
Many of the 15 centers being opened this year will expand LCA in the West and Southeast, Dr. Joffe said.
