Helionetics Expects Net Operating Loss

Helionetics Inc. disclosed late Wednesday night that it expects to post a net operating loss during the current quarter, which will end Dec. 31.

The amount of the projected fourth-quarter loss could not be immediately determined Wednesday. However, in a letter mailed to shareholders this week, Michael Mann, Helionetics’ president, said the loss may be offset by certain, undisclosed “non-recurring gains if certain pending transactions are consummated.” Last year, Helionetics reported net income of $586,500, down from $2.2 million the previous year.

In the letter to shareholders, Mann blamed a “critical shortage of working capital, coupled with the high level of debt incurred primarily in 1984,” for “constraining revenue and earnings recovery as well as limiting the company’s ability to capitalize on developing opportunities.”

The Irvine-based company, which manufactures high-tech military equipment, has been restructuring itself in the face of declining profits.

As previously reported, Helionetics posted a modest profit of $104,000 during the third quarter ended September 30, compared with a loss of $960,000 during the like period last year. About $4.4 million of that loss was from write-offs of discontinued operations and products. Revenues during the quarter dipped slightly to $5.4 million from $5.5 million during 1984.

For the first nine months of the year, the company reported a loss of $4.8 million, compared with earnings of $456,200 during the first three quarters of 1984. Revenues during the nine-month period were $15.5 million, down 11% compared with revenues of $17.4 million last year.