Quarter Earnings Down 88% for Winn Enterprises

Despite record revenues, Winn Enterprises of Anaheim announced Monday that first quarter earnings fell 88% largely due to declining profits at its Knudsen Foods subsidiary.

Ted Nelson, Winn’s chairman, said Knudsen was hit during the quarter by “competitive pricing” in Northern California that eroded profits. However, he said the price slashing had ended.

Earlier this year Winn suffered a $900,000 quarterly loss due to price-cutting competition from Carnation Co. and Jerseymaid Milk Products Inc. But in the subsequent quarter, the final one of the 1985 fiscal year, the company bounced back with a $3.8 million profit.

For the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, Winn reported profits of $191,000 compared to $1.6 million in the comparable year-ago quarter. Revenues for the period were $140 million, up 1% from the $138.8 million received the year before.

Nelson said Winn’s purchase in June of Foremost Dairies Inc. occurred too late in the quarter to affect either sales or profits. The sale closed June 27.