Gateway’s 3rd Quarter Earnings Reach $713,806

Gateway Communications Inc. in Irvine reported third-quarter earnings Thursday of $713,806, more than 10 times the $57,982 in profits for the same quarter last year. For the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, the computer products company posted profits of $834,658 compared to a net loss of $89,000.

The third quarter ended Sept. 30 also was the eighth consecutive quarter that Gateway posted record revenues. The company reached $2.04 million in revenues for the third quarter, up from $464,719. For the nine-month period, revenues hit $3,624,455, more than three times the $1,153,254 reported last year.

The company also eliminated its accumulated deficit during the quarter, said David S. McMaster, Gateway’s president and chief executive officer.

McMaster attributed the disparity in nine-month results to the impact last year of a one-time expense taken for a failed 1983 public offering attempt and to a strong market this year for the company’s main product, a personal computer communications device that allows IBM and IBM-compatible personal computers to be hooked up to each other and to such things as common files and printers.

Though the 1983 public offering was withdrawn because of adverse market conditions, a successful offering last October eliminated the company’s debt, said Mitchell Barrie, Gateway’s marketing coordinator.