Applied Circuit Reports Smaller Loss

Claiming that its restructuring is beginning to show results, Applied Circuit Technology Inc. reported first-quarter losses of $192,000, a marked improvement from the $1.5-million loss in the year-ago period.

For the three months ended Jan. 31, the electronics maker and pharmaceutical distributor had sales of $6.75 million, nearly triple the $2.28 million reported last year.

However, the increased revenue was largely the result of the company’s purchase last March ofWhiteworth Inc., a generic pharmaceuticals and drug manufacturer. The acquisition diversified the company’s operations beyond making computer disk drive testing equipment, an operation that had been losing money.

Last week the Anaheim-based company said it had reached an agreement to sell its test equipment unit to an Indonesian-owned company for an undisclosed sum. The company said the sale would enable it to concentrate its full resources on its Whiteworth pharmaceuticals and Towne Paulsen generic drugs subsidiaries in Gardena.

ACT earlier signed an agreement to sell its equipment repair and servicing unit.

The first quarter of fiscal 1988 includes two months of operation under Locke-Sweatman Investments, a management investment firm that acquired a 33% interest in ACT in early December from its founder and former chairman, J.V. Taylor.

Don M. Sweatman, who became chairman and chief executive of ACT in early December, said at the time that the management group would concentrate on developing the potential of the drug operations. Sweatman added that the investment group felt revenues from the drug operations had the potential of doubling from their current annual rate of $19 million.