TransTechnology Blames Profit Dip on SOS Losses

TransTechnology said its profit in the fiscal year ended March 31 fell 17% to $6.9 million, primarily because of $2.5 million in losses at its Space Ordnance Systems division in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The division has made substantial payments to dispose of hazardous wastes and temporarily stopped its production of decoy flares because of its inability to dispose of the wastes.

TransTechnology, a Sherman Oaks-based aerospace and defense firm, said its revenue for the year rose less than 1% from the year before, to $113 million. The company’s year-end earnings amounted to $1.52 a share, down from $1.75 a share in the year before.

For the fourth quarter, TransTechnology’s earnings fell 12% from a year earlier, to $3.6 million, or about 79 cents a share, in part because of costs from its acquisition of Lundy Electronics & Systems, a Glen Head, N.Y.-based defense firm.

The company said the Lundy acquisition is expected to add about $100 million in revenue this fiscal year. TransTechnology further predicted that the Lundy acquisition, combined with steps taken to eliminate the problems at its two Space Ordnance Systems plants, will increase earnings by as much as 70% this fiscal year.