Perceptronics to Collect for Military Videodiscs

Perceptronics said it received $875,000 from a Department of Defense agency that wants to distribute military maps on videodiscs previously sold by the Woodland Hills company.

The payment comes from the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency, which had earlier questioned whether Perceptronics was authorized to sell the maps, made using Defense Department materials, to various government agencies and defense contractors. Because of those questions, Perceptronics last year suspended sales of the videodiscs and took a write-off of about $400,000 against earnings in the fiscal year ended March 31.

Perceptronics Chairman Gershon Weltman said the agency has now decided Perceptronics should be able to distribute the maps and will pay the company for its inventory. As a result, he said, the company will report a special earnings gain.

Perceptronics said it is still negotiating a final agreement with the agency. In the year ended March 31, Perceptronics lost $1.3 million, compared to a $831,486 profit a year earlier, on sales of $38.4 million.