Applied Circuit Reports Loss of $1.4 Million in 2nd Quarter

Citing a continued lagging demand for its electronic-testing equipment, Applied Circuit Technology Inc. reported a second-quarter loss of $1.4 million. In the same period last year, the Anaheim company had a modest $62,800 profit. Revenues for the quarter ended April 30 were $4.1 million, down nearly 20% from the $5.1 million recorded last year.

The quarter’s results include about five week’s worth of sales from ACT’s latest acquisition, Whiteworth International, a Gardena-based maker of generic pharmaceuticals and drugs. J.V. Taylor, ACT’s chairman and chief executive, said that Whiteworth contributed about $1.75 million of the company’s second-quarter revenues.

Taylor said that sales of ACT’s original product line, a series of disk drive testing devices, were 40% below those of a year ago and were the major reason for the company’s continuing losses in the current fiscal year. ACT purchased Whiteworth in an effort to diversify its product line and make itself less dependent on the volatile computer industry.

For the first six months of the year, ACT reported losses of $2.91 million, compared to a loss of less than $450,000 last year. Sales for the period were $6.3 million, down 20% from the $7.9 million recorded last year.

Taylor said the company expects sales to improve for the remainder of the fiscal year as the full benefits of the Whiteworth acquisition are posted.