Venture capital investment in Utah companies during the first six months of the year reached about $193 million, surpassing by $5 million the amount raised statewide in all of 2004, a new report shows.

Venture capital investment in the second quarter alone was about $103 million, nearly double the $57 million raised in the second quarter of 2004. The increase was spurred in great part by a $40 million investment in Omniture Inc., according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers' MoneyTree Survey.

The investment in the Web analytics provider is the 10th largest in the country in the second quarter, according to the report. Omniture develops and markets software that allows companies to monitor customer activity on their Web sites.

The second largest deal in the second quarter was an $18.8 million investment in Tandem Labs, which helps companies bring new pharmaceutical products to the market more quickly.

- Lesley Mitchell

NPS revenues up fourfold

NPS Pharmaceuticals saw revenues grow fourfold during its most recent quarter, but still recorded a net loss of under $42.2 million and $1.09 a share.

The results for the quarter ending June 30 compared to a net loss of just over $41.4 million and $1.11 per share the same time a year ago. Revenues, primarily due to sales of Sensipar, which targets ailments specific to kidney dialysis and renal diseases, climbed to $2.2 million compared to $443,000 for 2004's second quarter.

Earlier this month, the Salt Lake City biopharmaceutical company also celebrated the Food and Drug Administration's acceptance of a NPS' new drug application for Preos, NPS' osteoporosis treatment compound.

- Bob Mims

Merit Medical earnings up

New products sales and record revenues offset ongoing expansion costs for Merit Medical Inc., leaving the biotechnology company with net earnings of $4.7 million, or 17 cents per share, for its most recent quarter.

While the South Jordan maker of disposable cardiological and radiological devices saw its net income shrink from the $5.1 million and 18 cents per share of a year ago, revenues reached a high-water mark of $42.4 million - up 9 percent from 2004's second-quarter figure of $38.9 million. Catheter sales alone rose 22 percent.

- Bob Mims

Questar Q2 earnings rise

Questar Corp. said its second-quarter earnings rose 43 percent to $60.7 million, or $0.70 per diluted share.

Revenue for the quarter totaled $520.2 million, up from $369.5 million in the same three months of 2004.

The natural gas company said that was due to greater efficiencies in gathering and processing natural gas as well as higher production and prices for natural gas and related products.

For the first half of 2005, Questar earned $155.9 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, compared with $118.7 million, or $1.39 per diluted share, for the same six months in 2004.

- Lesley Mitchell