Labtec Buys Back Stock

Buoyed by stronger than anticipated sales and earnings, peripheral manufacturer Labtec is initiating a stock buy back. The company is also planning to restructure its debt. After announcing that third quarter earnings would beat analysts' expectations, the company announced that its two largest shareholder had agreed to convert almost $2.3 million dollars in debt into common stock. Labtec also authorized an open market buy back of up to 200,000 common shares. Both moves are intended to help Labtec meet NASDAQ listing requirements. "The culmination of our efforts was a strong improvement in top- and bottom-line results for the six months ended September 30, 1999. We are pleased to report that the first two months of the third quarter preliminarily indicate that we will have another record quarter, with double-digit growth in all of our product lines," said Labtec president and CEO Bob Wick.