Strong Sales Boost Profits of Micropolis in 3rd Period

Chatsworth-based Micropolis, citing strong sales of its 85-megabyte disk drives, reported net income of $452,865, or 5 cents a share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 27. The company’s profits were up 341% from $102,690, or 1 cent a share, a year earlier.

Sales increased 44% to $22.1 million, from $15.4 million in the year-earlier period.

For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Micropolis earned $527,029, or 6 cents a share, down 56% from earnings of $1.2 million, or 13 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The company’s sales increased 42% to $58.7 million from $41.3 million.

The decline in nine-month earnings from a year earlier was caused mainly by a $411,000 loss in the first quarter.

Micropolis makes hard disk drives--memory systems for personal computers that record information on rigid disks. This is the first year the company has been shipping large amounts of the 85-megabyte model. Dundas I. Flaherty, chief financial officer, said the product now accounts for about 90% of the company’s sales.