AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
Byline: MARILYN ALVA
When he started work as chief executive of Bausch & Lomb in early 2002, Ronald Zarrella's first order of business was to fire up profit.
The maker of contact lenses and other products suffered a 61% earnings decline in 2001. Zarrella, a former General Motors executive, immediately focused on cutting costs and reducing overlap.
About $60 million has been taken out of the global supply chain so far, he says. That's helped Bausch & Lomb average 43% earnings growth the past two years. First-quarter profit this year rose 39% to 43 cents a share .
Another $30 million in savings will come from consolidating technology platforms, Zarrella says.
He recently spoke with IBD.
IBD: Some say your profitability improvement plan comes at the expense of sales. They cite the fact you don't have a blockbuster product.