COOPERVISION <EYE> DELAYS ANNUAL MEETING CooperVision Inc said it has delayed its annual meeting to June 22 from May 14 to allow its board to review possible recapitalization options before the meeting. CooperVision today reported first quarter net income of 64.6 mln dlrs, after a 175.2 mln dlr pretax gain from the sale of its ophthalmic business to Johnson and Johnson <JNJ> for 260 mln dlrs in cash and a 17.9 mln dlr posttax charge from a debt repurchase. Sales were 94.4 mln dlrs. A year earlier it earned 7,300,000 dlrs after a 120,000 dlr loss from discontinued operations, on sales of 85.4 mln dlrs. The company said an aggressive program of investment spending to maintain or increase market shares its its two core businesses will accelerate sales growth this year but hold back increases in operating income in the near future. CooperVision said "Furthermore, until the entire net cash proceeds from the recent sales of several of our businesses are employed to reduce indebtedness, make strategic acquisitions and/or are otherwise employed in relation to a possible recapitalization of the company, recovery of net income will be held back by the loss, particularly of the tax income, of the (ophthalmic) pharmaceutical business sold to Johnson and Johnson."