Micro D Inc.

A slight decline in sales and a rise in expenses at Micro D Inc., one of the nation’s largest distributors of computer software and accessories, resulted in a 51% drop in net income for a two-month period ended Dec. 31.

The Santa Ana-based company posted a profit of $217,000, down from $494,000 reported for the like two-month period a year ago. The unusual two-month reporting period was a result of a previously announced change in the end of the company’s fiscal year to Dec. 31 from Oct. 31, said Godfred Otuteye, a company spokesman.

Otuteye said the change allows management to focus attention on the company’s busiest sales season instead of year-end reports.

Sales for the two months declined 3% to $19.2 million from $19.8 million for the same period in 1983.

Otuteye said Micro D’s sales remained virtually flat as the computer software and accessories industry experienced a heavy round of price cutting. The lackluster sales growth and additional expenses related to new corporate headquarters and computer system brought on the decline in profits, he said.

Earlier this year, the six-year-old company announced the resignation of its president, Richard G. Lionetti, as part of a major corporate shake-up to cope with changes in the computer industry. Lionetti has not been replaced.

The company said a growing number of computer makers have begun their own consumer marketing efforts, bypassing Micro D’s services and leaving the company to the distribution of products.