Terminal Data Notches $191,000 Profit in Quarter

Terminal Data posted a $191,000 profit in its fiscal fourth quarter to rebound from a year-earlier loss of $996,000.

The Simi Valley maker of electronic document-storage systems reported that the profit, equal to 4 cents a share, was despite a 21% drop in sales in the quarter ended Sept. 30, to $6.5 million from $8.2 million.

The big loss a year earlier stemmed mostly from Terminal Data’s building of its Simi Valley headquarters. The plant was built in late 1985 to accommodate Terminal Data’s planned expansion, but the growth did not occur. As a result, the building sat empty for nearly a year, costing Terminal Data more than $1 million to maintain.

Terminal Data finally moved into its headquarters in late 1986. But three months ago, Terminal Data sold the Simi Valley plant for $21 million to Gibraltar Savings and reported that it plans to move its headquarters again--this time to Moorpark--to cut costs.

For its full fiscal year, Terminal Data earned $174,000, or 4 cents a share, contrasted with a loss of $3.8 million the previous year. Its annual sales fell to $25.3 million from $31 million.