THE TIMES 100 : THE BEST PERFORMING COMPANIES IN CALIFORNIA : THE BOTTOM LINE : Sometimes You Win, Sometimes. . . : B of A, Fluor Come Back in a Big Way; Others Take a Slide

Cooper Cos., a health-care products maker in Northern California in the process of selling its businesses, took the honors for 1988’s biggest nose dive, posting losses of more than $150 million.

Other notable dives were performed by Northrop Corp., the aerospace giant, and Tandon Corp., the computer company whose fortunes in recent years have paralleled Magic Mountain roller-coaster rides.

Comeback-of-the-year award goes, without doubt, to Bank of America, once again the country’s second-largest bank; its parent company earned $547 million last year. Honorable mention is extended to Fluor Corp., the engineering and construction behemoth that emerged from the doldrums in 1988 after three years of heavy losses.

The Times calculated the 10 biggest nose dives by contrasting 1988 losses with 1987 profits and figured the 10 best comebacks by comparing 1988 profits to 1987 losses. Those with the widest spreads made the lists. (The profit figures reflect operating income in 1988 and don’t include one-time items or losses on discontinued operations.)

The statistics can be misleading unless put in perspective. First Interstate remains plagued by a troubled subsidiary in Texas and does not qualify for true comeback status--at least not yet.

On the other hand, Bank of America has once again become a lead player in the U.S. banking industry and no longer warrants the appellation of a “troubled” bank. BofA posted huge losses between 1985 through 1987.

In the past few weeks, BankAmerica has unveiled a new aggressiveness, buying smaller banks in two western states and leading the pack in extending retail office hours, including opening branch offices on Saturday. Its major California competitors followed suit almost immediately.

Officials at BofA’s headquarters in San Francisco are once again bragging about bullish trends, including sharply increased market shares in consumer and real estate loans, a stock price that is soaring and quarterly profits that are setting new records.

“We’re on a roll,” said Peter Magnini, a bank spokesman.

Fluor Corp., whose distinctive mirrored-glass headquarters sits astride the San Diego Freeway in Irvine, has not returned to the profitable halcyon years of the early 1980s. But it has traveled light-years since 1985, when the company hit bottom financially, amid heavy losses.

The turnaround occurred after the company de-emphasized the energy-related side of its engineering and construction business and began pursuing a wide range of construction contracts.

Whereas 90% of company orders were once tied to petroleum-related projects, now less than 30% are, according to company spokesman Rick Maslin. Fluor resumed its dividend last September, then doubled the payout to 4 cents a share last month. “We think our turnaround is for real,” Maslin said.

Meanwhile, the nose dives affected some well-known California companies. Northrop, a huge military contractor, blamed the government for its problems, while Tandon blamed its woes on tough market conditions.

Northrop reported an operating loss of nearly $31 million last year after posting a profit of more than $94 million in 1987. The big blow came in the fourth quarter, when the firm revealed a hefty charge against earnings because of secret fixed-price research and development contracts.

At the time of the reported loss, Northrop refused to amplify on the circumstances behind the writeoff. But, in its annual report, the aerospace firm took the government to task for “still trying to ease industry into unsound business arrangements (with fixed-price contracts). We do not intend to let this happen. Last year alone, the company declined to bid, or bid unresponsively, on 14 contracts after a careful review of the government’s proposed terms and conditions.”

Tandon, which makes personal computers, most of which are sold in Europe, didn’t do much better last year. It lost $19.9 million and earlier this month laid off about 20% of its U.S. work force in an effort to cut costs.

Founded in 1975 by India native Sirjan Lal (Jugi) Tandon, the company has been up and down in recent years. It was once one of the computer industry’s largest makers of disk drives, which store and retrieve data inside a computer, but sold the business in 1986 amid heavy losses.

Tandon returned to the black in 1987 but stumbled in 1988 on heavy losses in the fourth quarter. The company blamed the red ink on a shortage of semiconductors as well as increased marketing and advertising costs in Europe, where Tandon is pushing to expand its business.

Cooper’s nose dive occurred as part of a restructuring in which the company has sold or is selling all its operations. Its businesses include the manufacture of contact lenses and medical diagnostic equipment.

Now under new management and owners, Cooper plans to emerge from the ashes in the next few months and “start a brand-new company,” according to Gene Elsbree, head of investor relations for the company. He declined to say what the new company would do but indicated that it would be “growth-oriented.”

Cooper’s operating losses in 1988 stemmed from a $59-million reserve related to the proposed sale of its medical diagnostic operations. The company also lost $67 million on discontinued operations, driving total losses for the year to more than $200 million.

Another operating expense in 1988 was some $22 million in severance and compensation expenses. Most of that went to former management headed by company founder Parker Montgomery, who was ousted from the company last year by dissident shareholders.

NOSE DIVES

Companies ranked by absolute dollar change from profit to loss in one year.

1988 1987 Change loss income in income Rank Company ($ millions) ($ millions) ($ millions) 1 Cooper Cos. (152.0) 68.3 (220.3) 2 Northrop Corp. (30.9) 94.2 (125.1) 3 Wickes Cos.* (46.1) 41.6 (87.6) 4 National Semiconductor* (16.1) 62.7 (78.8) 5 Micropolis Corp. (19.4) 27.2 (46.6) 6 Central Bank (27.3) 10.1 (37.4) 7 Tandon Corp. (19.9) 17.1 (36.9) 8 Avantek Inc. (25.3) 11.6 (36.9) 9 Wyse Technology Inc.* (6.9) 28.0 (34.9) 10 Homestead Financial Corp. (9.1) 24.7 (33.7)

*See exceptions, page 38.

BORN AGAIN

Companies ranked by absolute dollar change from loss to profit in one year.

Change 1988 income 1987 loss in income Rank Company ($ millions) ($ millions) ($ millions) 1 BankAmerica Corp. 547.0 (955.0) 1,502.0 2 First Interstate Bancorp 102.4 (556.2) 658.6 3 Fluor Corp. 56.4 (75.3) 131.7 4 Mattel Inc. 35.9 (92.5) 128.4 5 Carter Hawley Hale** 9.3 (115.3) 124.6 6 Advanced Micro Devices 19.3 (48.1) 67.4 7 Landmark Land Co. 13.2 (47.5) 60.7 8 Priam Corp. 0.3 (41.3) 41.7 9 ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. 4.1 (30.8) 34.9 10 Valid Logic Systems 6.1 (25.9) 32.0

**See company notes, page 29.