Anaheim Company Just Reported Worst Loss Ever : Menetrey, Applied Circuit President, Quits

Just one day after reporting its worst loss ever, Applied Circuit Technology Inc. said Tuesday that Walter R. Menetrey has resigned as the Anaheim company’s president and chief operating officer.

Menetrey, a consultant before joining Applied Circuit two years ago, plans “to pursue personal interests in corporate counseling,” the company said in a prepared statement.

Menetrey also resigned as one of ACT’s five directors and as chief operating officer of its pharmaceuticals subsidiary.

Jose Elaydo, president of ACT’s Systems division, replaced Menetrey on the board Monday, but the other positions remain unfilled.

J.V. Taylor, ACT’s chairman, would not comment on whether Menetrey’s departure was related to the company’s continued losses, but he said it was “very possible” that Menetrey would be retained as an outside consultant.

Menetrey left the company Monday and could not be reached for comment.

On Monday, ACT reported a net loss of $1.9 million for its fiscal third quarter ended July 31 and a loss for the nine months of $4.8 million--more than twice its worst annual loss since the company went public in August, 1983. ACT said most of the losses came from its computer disk drive test systems and floppy disk operations.

In an effort to diversify and to avoid cyclical downturns in the computer business, the company last March acquired Whiteworth International Inc., a Gardena wholesale pharmaceuticals company.

At the time Menetrey was hired, industry analysts had high hopes that he would reverse the company’s losses.

He came to ACT with a long history in the computer business. He was an executive with Xerox Development Corp., a subsidiary established by Xerox in 1976 to develop corporate strategies. And, as a consultant, Menetrey worked for ACT, helping to attract investors and search for potential acquisitions.

Taylor said in prepared remarks Monday that the market for computer test systems “has been deteriorating for a year.”

A year ago, for instance, ACT was showing a modest $69,333 net income for the first three quarters, but it ended its fiscal year Oct. 31 in the red with a net loss of $401,153.

Menetrey took over as president of ACT at a time when the company’s stock was selling for about $1.25 a share. The stock closed Tuesday at 25 cents a share, down 6 cents for the day.