BOULDER - Surgical-device maker Encision Inc. recently laid off 12 people and reported lower product revenue for the most recent quarter ended March 31.

Half of the workers laid off were salespeople who are expected to be paid on commission, going forward, said Fred Perner, president and chief executive of Boulder-based Encision (PK: ECIA) The lay-offs represented 20 percent of the company's previous 61-employee workforce.

Workers were laid off starting in April to "align our expenses with our current revenue," according to a company press statement. Encision made annual cuts of more than $1.5 million across all departments, according to the press statement.

The surgical-device maker reported quarterly product revenue of $2.7 million for the quarter ended March 31 and a net loss of $279,000, or 3 cents per share, according to the press statement. The quarterly earnings compared to quarterly product revenue of $2.9 million and a net income of $40,000, or 1 cent per share for the same quarter in 2012.

"Overall, we were disappointed that our product revenue for the fourth quarter decreased on a year over year basis," Perner said in the press statement.

For the fiscal year, the company reported product revenue of $11.2 million and a net loss of $616,000, or 8 cents per share. This year's earnings compared to product revenue of $11.2 million and a net loss of $531,000, or 8 cents per share in the previous fiscal year.

At the same time, Encision launched several new products in the most recent quarter, including a new surgical monitor, a disposable fixed-tip electrode device and a disposable suction-irrigation electrode device, Perner said.

Perner also highlighted Encision's agreement to distribute laparoscopic organ retraction products in the United States made by Virtual Ports Ltd., headquartered in Caesarea, Israel. Encision signed the agreement with Virtual Ports in April, he said.

"(We) believe these unique products complement our core electrosurgery platform very well," Perner said.

Encision was incorporated in 1991. The company's laparoscopic surgical instruments are used in minimally invasive surgical procedures.