Palo Alto, CA 1/16/09—Varian has announced that its expects fiscal year 2009 first-quarter sales, for the quarter ended January 2, to be $205–$210 million, compared to revenues of $237.4 million for the same period a year ago. “Although we entered the first quarter with a strong backlog for these products and saw solid orders during the quarter, delays due to some of these factors, compounded by the shorter working month and customer shutdowns in December, were responsible for a large portion of our decrease in revenues, and all of the decrease in earnings, in the first quarter. Fortunately, we expect to recognize most of these revenues during the second and third quarters,” said Garry W. Rogerson, president and CEO of Varian. He also attributed the weakness in orders to economic conditions. The company forecasts fiscal first-quarter adjusted diluted EPS of $0.50–$0.54, including shared-based compensation expense of approximately $0.05. Varian also announced the elimination of 240 employees and 80 temporary positions, as well as the closure of an R&D/manufacturing facility and two sales offices. The actions are expected to reduce annual operating costs by $20–$24 million when fully implemented. In addition, the company has instituted a salary freeze and restrictions on hiring and discretionary spending.