Sierracin Posts $99,000, 2.7% Loss in 1st Quarter

Sierracin Corp., a Sylmar-based aerospace and electronics company, lost $99,000 in its first quarter this year, down from a profit of $164,000 in the same period of 1985. Revenue for the quarter was $18.7 million, off 2.7%.

The company’s results, however, were an improvement over results in fourth quarter 1985 when it lost $1.5 million, or 43 cents a share, on sales of $19.4 million.

Sierracin reported that its 10 operating divisions together turned a profit for the quarter, but those gains were outweighed by a loss at the company’s 50%-owned joint venture with Asahi Glass Co. of Japan.

Gary Patten, Sierracin’s vice president for finance, attributed the improved results at the operating divisions mainly to cost cutting and the rebounding of the company’s Thermal Division. The division, which makes electronic components, was shut down last year by fire.

Sierracin’s chairman, Christoph Tribull, has been the subject of controversy recently. He is accused in court papers of trying to depress the company’s stock, improperly using company funds and threatening to kill a former president and a former director for Sierracin. Tribull’s lawyer has denied the allegations.