Electro Rent Posts 4% Rise in 3rd-Quarter Profit

Electro Rent Corp. posted a 4% increase in its fiscal third-quarter profit, compared with a year earlier, despite a 6% decline in revenue.

The Van Nuys company, which rents computer equipment and other products to businesses, said its net income in the quarter that ended Feb. 28 rose to $1.69 million from $1.63 million. Its revenue fell to $25.3 million from $26.9 million.

Electro Rent said rental and lease demand for its equipment remains weak, although the company continues to expand its personal computer/workstation business. It also has cut its bank debt to $52 million as of Feb. 28 from $64 million a year earlier.

For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Electro Rent’s profit edged up 3%, to $5.34 million from $5.18 million, and its revenue fell 5% to $76.5 million from $80.8 million.