TransTechnology Reports 87% Decline in Earnings

TransTechnology Corp. of Sherman Oaks reported that earnings for the fiscal third quarter that ended Dec. 31 plunged 87% to $348,000 from $2.6 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 14% to $51 million from $59 million.

TransTechnology makes a variety of products for the defense and industrial markets, including fasteners, hoists and computer workstations. The company, which reported losses in the previous two quarters, has been hurt by slow sales, losses on fixed-price government contracts, costs of consolidating operations, inventory writedowns and costs of product development.

For the nine months that ended Dec. 31, TransTechnology reported a loss of $3.8 million, in contrast to a $4-million profit in the year-earlier period. Revenue was $142.5 million, down 10% from $159 million.