Carlsbad, Calif. A drop in second-quarter sales and continued shipping problems blunted a 96 percent jump in net income for Sunrise Medical in the second quarter of fiscal 1999.

For the quarter ended January 1, net income was $1.8 million, or 8 cents a share, up from $928,000, or 4 cents a share, in fiscal 1998. Fiscal 1998's second-quarter earnings were affected by a non-recurring expense and income items that had a net negative impact of $2.1 million pre-tax, or 6 cents a share.

Revenue was down 3 percent to $163.5 million, compared with $169.1 million for the same quarter in fiscal 1998.

"The second quarter is traditionally our weakest, but results this year were particularly disappointing," said chairman Richard Chandler, who attributed a slowdown in sales at the end of the quarter to fewer December shipping days and production delays in Mexico.

Revenue for the Home Healthcare Group dropped 1 percent to $87 million. Respiratory product sales slumped and personal care product shipments were hurt by production limitations at the company's Mexican facility, resulting in a backlog of orders, officials said.-M.L. and Ken Gurnick