Sierracin Reports Gain in Third-Quarter Profits

Sierracin Corp. said its third-quarter profit rose sharply from a year earlier, but the gain was due to the Sylmar company’s sale of two divisions.

Sierracin, a maker of cockpit windows and other aerospace products, said net income in the quarter that ended Sept. 30 jumped to $4.97 million from $943,000 a year earlier. The latest earnings included a $4.5-million net gain from the divestiture of its Intrex and Transflex divisions, which make coatings and thermal heaters, respectively. Sierracin’s sales dropped 19% to $18 million from $22.1 million.

Sierracin said its profit from operations fell in the quarter because it was unable to cut its manufacturing and overhead costs to match the drop in sales.

For the first nine months of 1989, Sierracin’s profit rose to $5.82 million from $1.89 million, but its sales fell 4% to $58.9 million from $61.6 million.

In August, Sierracin’s board accepted a $30-million buyout offer from an investor group led by Sierracin Chairman Christoph Tribull and Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. of Japan. The group offered to buy the 52% of Sierracin it does not already own for $15 a share.