MSI Data Credits New Products for Earnings Gain

Citing strong acceptance of its new products, MSI Data Corp., the Costa Mesa maker of portable electronic inventory counting devices, said its fiscal 1987 third-quarter earnings of $280,000 were up 34% from the $209,000 posted the prior year.

For the period ended Dec. 27, the company had revenues of $18.1 million, up 17.5% from the $15.4 million recorded the year before.

Charles S. Strauch, president and chief executive, said the company is pleased with its gradual improvement over the last two years and is looking forward to continued success with its turnaround efforts. He said products launched within the last two years now account for more than half of the company’s sales.

“In brief,” he said, “our long-term repositioning strategy is beginning to show results.” For the first nine months, MSI earned $680,000, compared with a loss of $116,000 in the prior period. Revenues increased 8%, to $49.7 million from $46.1 million.