Sales Demand Triples Profits for AST Research

Boosted by strong demand for its recently-introduced products, AST Research Inc. reported a three-fold increase in fiscal 1985’s third-quarter and nine-month profits, the company said Tuesday.

The Irvine-based computer accessory maker reported net income of $5.8 million for the third quarter, ended March 31, up from $1.6 million for the year-ago period. Nine-month earnings were $12.3 million, compared to $4 million during the first three quarters of fiscal 1984.

At the same time, AST’s revenues nearly doubled in the third quarter and more than doubled for the nine-month period, the company said. Third-quarter revenues were $37.8 million compared to $20 million a year ago while sales for the nine months were $96 million, a sharp increase from the $40 million reported for the same period. Besides new products, earnings were bolstered by the continuing drop in product costs and various cost-reduction programs at the company, said Safi Qureshey, AST president.

Net Income Up Sharply for Standard Pacific

Standard Pacific Corp., a Costa Mesa-based residential construction firm, Tuesday announced that it earned $2.9 million in the first quarter of 1985, topping by 72% the $1.7 million in profit the company posted for the first quarter of 1984.

Company revenues for the period were $43.6 million, up 24% from revenues of $35 million for the year-ago period.

Chairman Arthur E. Svendsen said that in the first three months of 1985, Standard Pacific received an average of 44 new-home orders per week, boosting the backlog of presold homes to 772, up from 475 at the beginning of the year.

Laguna Bank Reports Rise in Earnings, Assets

Laguna Bank said earnings for the first quarter rose 57% to $70,719 from the $45,126 reported for the same period last year. The Laguna Beach bank’s assets of $26.1 million as of March 31 were up 23% from $21.2 million in 1984. Deposits were 24% higher at $23.7 million than last year’s $19 million and loans of $18.9 million were up 28% from $14.8 million at the end of the first quarter last year. The bank’s capital-to-assets ratio on March 31 was 8.4%.

Huntington Nat’l Bank Rebounds from ’84 Loss

Huntington National Bank announced profits of $102,000 for the first quarter of 1985, rebounding from a loss of $38,000 for the first quarter of 1984. Assets increased 7% to $44 million from $41 million during the same period last year, and deposits were $40 million for the quarter, an 8% increase from $37 million in 1984. Loans totaled $32 million for the quarter, up 19% from $27 million in 1984’s first quarter.

Sales Pump Up Quarter for PDA Engineering

Citing strong sales of its engineering computer programs, PDA Engineering of Santa Ana said third-quarter earnings rose 42% to a record $473,000.

For the period ended March 31, the engineering services and computer program publisher posted sales of $3.7 million, an increase of 22% over the $3 million recorded a year ago.

The quarter’s $473,000 net earnings compare with a $334,000 profit in the prior third quarter.

For the first nine months of its 1985 fiscal year, PDA reported earnings of $951,000, nearly 37% above the $695,000 recorded in the same period last year. Revenues for the first three quarters rose 40% to $11 million from the $7.8 million posted a year ago.

PDA Engineering became a publicly traded company in January.