Troubled Tandon Posts Gain for Quarter : Turnaround: An updated line of personal computers helps boost sales by the Moorpark manufacturer to $105 million, as its founder denies rumors he’s trying to sell the company.

Tandon Corp., a Moorpark computer company that has managed only one full year profit since 1985, reported dramatically improved results in the first quarter of 1990, buoyed by sales of its personal computers in Europe.

Tandon’s profit for the first quarter that ended March 31 was $7 million, compared to a loss of $9.86 million for the first quarter of 1989. The company’s sales jumped 13% to $105 million in the first quarter, from $92.7 million a year before.

The company’s founder, Sirjang Lal Tandon, attributed the improved sales in part to a new line of personal computers that use a faster type of microprocessor made by Intel Corp. Microprocessors, which are the parts of computers that read and carry out instructions, help determine how well and how fast a particular personal computer performs.

Tandon, who also goes by the first name of Jugi, countered speculation that Tandon Corp. is hanging out a for sale sign. “Everything in the world is for sale,” Tandon said. “But I’m not looking for a buyer at this point.”

Last August, Tandon Corp. announced that it had retained investment banker Bear, Stearns & Co. to help it explore financial options, but Jugi Tandon said the idea was simply to have underwriters “on board.”

The improved results could mark the beginning of an important turnaround for Tandon Corp. The company made its mark by selling computer data storage devices called disk drives. For a while, the company and its founder flourished, with Tandon Corp.’s stock trading as high as $34.25 per share in 1983.

But the disk drive business was battered by Japanese competition, and Tandon Corp. retreated from that market and sold most of its disk drive business two years ago. The company remade itself as a producer of personal computers, largely for the European market, which now accounts for about 90% of Tandon’s sales.

But the strategy did not pay off immediately. Tandon Corp. racked up losses totaling about $199 million from 1985 through 1989, reporting a year-end profit only once--of $23.5 million in 1987. Meanwhile, the company’s stock collapsed, trading as low as 50 cents a share last fall.

As the stock sank, so did Jugi Tandon’s personal fortune. He was listed in Forbes magazine in 1983 as one of the 400 richest individuals in the United States, with his 11% stake in the company then worth an estimated $150 million. By last fall, Jugi Tandon’s 7.3% stake in the company had a paper value of only about $2.5 million.

But the stock market seemed pleased by the latest quarterly results, which were released last Thursday. Tandon Corp. stock closed at $2.25 on Friday, up 25 cents since Wednesday, boosting Jugi Tandon’s stake to a value of about $10 million.

There were other signs of recovery. The company’s cash reserves, which had dipped as low as $7.1 million as of Sept. 30, 1989, soared to $32.1 million by March 31.

But the better results have not come without pain. Tandon Corp. last year laid off about 240 workers, or about 25% of its employees.