Strong Orders Credited for Profit at Datron Systems

Datron Systems Inc., a Simi Valley maker of communication systems for defense and commercial industries, posted a $1.37-million profit for its fiscal second quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of $277,000.

The earnings in the quarter ended Sept. 30 came on a 21% increase in Datron’s sales, to $19.1 million from $15.8 million.

Datron said the gains reflected a strong order backlog and record levels of new orders. Also, the year-earlier results were hampered by a $1.5-million pretax charge stemming from a canceled contract.

For the first half of its fiscal year, Datron earned $2.18 million versus a loss of $107,000 a year earlier, and its six-month sales jumped 48%, to $35.8 million from $24.2 million.