Marantz Loses $1.7 Million, Reports 18% Drop in Sales

Marantz Co., which has not had an operating profit since 1977, reported a net loss of $1.7 million, or 73 cents per share, for its second quarter ended June 30. That was more than double the loss of $823,000, or 36 cents per share, reported for the same period last year.

Sales for the quarter were $7.1 million, off 18% from the same quarter last year.

For the six months ended June 30, Marantz reported a net loss of $2.7 million, or $1.16 per share. During the corresponding period in 1984, the company reported a net loss of $1.6 million, or 70 cents per share.

Sales for the six-month period were $14.5 million, down 19% from the same period last year.

Joseph S. Tushinsky, chairman and chief executive officer, said the first- and second-quarter losses were due to a clearing of inventory for new products scheduled for shipment during the rest of this year.

Chatsworth-based Marantz, formerly the sole distributors of Sony tape recorders in the Western hemisphere, will introduce a line of VHS home-video recording equipment this fall.

Tushinsky projected that the company will at least break even this year because of the new products.