2nd Quarter Profits Drop 75% for Odetics

Despite increased sales, Odetics Inc., the Anaheim high-technology company, reported Wednesday that its profits tumbled 75% in its second quarter.

For the period ended Sept. 30, the company earned $22,000, compared to $90,000 in the year-ago quarter. Revenues were $8.5 million, 18% above the $7.2 million recorded last year.

For the first six months of the year, the company lost $488,000 compared with a profit of $295,000 last year. Revenues for the period were $16.1 million in the current year, 11% above the $14.5 million recorded last year.

Despite the drop in profits from the year-ago period, the second quarter represented an improvement over the immediately preceding one when the company lost $510,000.

“An increase in sales, combined with a companywide cost-cutting program, resulted in a significant improvement over the first-quarter loss,” said Joel Slutzky, chairman of Odetics. He also noted that within the last year the company has moved to more expensive offices and has taken on debts that increased its interest expenses to $485,000 in the second quarter. Interest charges in the year-ago quarter were $219,000.