Tekelec Reports 4% Profit Rise on Hefty Sales Jump

Tekelec, a maker of equipment used to test telecommunications gear, reported 4% higher net income on a 49% rise in sales for its second quarter.

Net income was $336,000, or 10 cents a share, on sales of $3.3 million.

The Calabasas company attributed its gains from the same quarter last year to “significant growth” in sales of the company’s digital voice test equipment, which is used primarily for telephone installation and maintenance by companies including AT&T;, GTE and MCI.

Marcie Walker, a Tekelec spokeswoman, said she couldn’t explain why the company’s earnings grew more slowly than its sales.

In the first half of the year, net income rose 58%, to $679,000, or 22 cents a share. Sales rose 72%, to about $6.6 million. Tekelec’s stock was offered to the public for the first time in May.