Bioanalytical Systems Inc. narrowed its losses in the second fiscal quarter despite a 2 percent drop in revenue, the West Lafayette-based contract research firm said late last week.

A $1.2 million loss in the period ended March 31 was better than the $1.8 million loss reported for the same period last year. Revenue was down $200,000, to $6.9 million.

Chief Financial Office Michael Cox attributed the bulk of the loss to one-time charges including $520,000 related to staff reductions.

"Our operations in our most recently completed fiscal quarter have shown improvement,” he said in a prepared statement.  “Yet there is, in our business as well as the general economy, a long way to go to put this recession behind us.”

On Friday, the company named Anthony S. Chilton as president and CEO following the retirement of top executive Richard M. Shepperd earlier this year. Chilton, 53, had been Bioanalytical’s chief operating officer since 2008.

Located in Purdue University’s Research Park, Bioanalytical Systems was founded in 1974 by Pete and Candace Kissinger. Over the years, it grew into one of Indiana’s largest life science firms.

But the economic turmoil took its toll on the company, which saw annual revenue decline from $45.2 million in 2007 to $31.8 million last year—leading to a loss of $5.5 million.

Bioanalytical Systems’ revenue is down a total of 12 percent for the first six months of the 2010 fiscal year, the company said, but losses have narrowed to $2.7 million from $3.4 million in the first half of 2009.

“During the course of this downturn, we made a significant improvement in our cost structure, a discipline we intend to maintain,” Cox said in the statement.