Eyecare company Bausch & Lomb said yesterday it had fired its president and chief operating officer Mr Carl Sassano and warned that revenues would be flat or slightly lower for the rest of the year, sending the stock tumbling 34 per cent late yesterday.

The maker of contact lenses, lens care products and eye surgery equipment blamed slower growth in the vision care segment, price pressure on US generic drugs, product supply constraints and a weak euro.

The company employs 1,400 people at its Waterford manufacturing facility, which produces mainly contact lenses for the European market.