Computer Automation Posts 9th Consecutive Loss

Computer Automation, which recently moved its headquarters from Colorado to Irvine, has announced that it lost $945,000 in its fiscal 1985 third quarter, the ninth consecutive quarter of red ink for the once-prosperous computer maker. The company lost $2.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 1984.

In the period ended March 31, Computer Automation had revenues of $12.7 million, a 6% decline from the $13.5 million recorded in the same period last year.

Largely because of the continuing losses, the company last month announced that it was consolidating its corporate headquarters with its manufacturing plant in Irvine. About 3 1/2 years ago, Computer Automation’s founder and former president, David Methvin, moved the company’s headquarters to Boulder, Colo. after roundly criticizing California’s “anti-business . . . leanings” and Orange County’s smog, traffic and high housing costs.

Methvin resigned from the company last month, citing the firm’s need for new leadership.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, Computer Automation reported revenues of $39.6 million, down about 2% from the $40.3 million recorded in the previous year. Losses were $3.9 million, an improvement from the $7 million lost in the first three quarters of fiscal 1984.