Staar Surgical Co., which manufactures implantable lenses for the eye, announced a record 33-percent jump in sales for the first quarter on growth occurring in China, Korea and Japan, according to a securities filing.

The Monrovia-based company on May 2 reported $27.1 million in sales for the quarter ended March 31, compared to $20.4 million during the same period last year.

A day after the earnings report, shares in Staar surged more than 26 percent to $21.15 on the Nasdaq exchange.

Net income for the period was 0.6 million (or 1 cent a share), compared with a loss of $2.2 million (or loss of 5 cents a share) for the same period in 2017.

Staar Surgical, founded in 1982, designs, develops and manufactures implantable lenses to lessen or eliminate reliance on glasses or contact lenses. It has 350 employees, with plants in Monrovia and Aliso Viejo, and markets lenses to more than 75 countries.

Health business reporter Dana Bartholomew can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @_DanaBart.