Sales Up 48% at AST Research for 2nd Quarter

AST Research Inc., continuing to prosper in a down personal computer market, posted a 48% jump in second-quarter sales but only a modest improvement in profits.

The company reported sales of $239.1 million for the quarter ended Dec. 27, contrasted with $161.1 million for the corresponding quarter in 1991. Earnings were $16.7 million, or 52 cents per share, up from $16.3 million a year earlier.

As recently as December, AST President Safi U. Qureshey was predicting slackening demand for the company’s portable notebook computers, which account for nearly one-third of total sales.

The Irvine-based company said it shipped record numbers of desktop computers during the quarter, especially models based on the Intel Corp. 386SX and 386DX microchips. It also reported continued strong demand for models based on Intel’s powerful i486 chip. AST said it shipped 100,000 desktop models and 21,000 Premium Exec notebooks during the quarter.

Qureshey credited the company’s diverse product line and growing distribution network for the company’s strong performance in a slow economy.

AST lowered its prices on portable notebook computers at least 30% during the second quarter to combat renewed competition from larger Compaq Computer Corp. However, AST’s gross profit margins do not appear to have suffered, said Ian Gilson, an analyst with L.H. Friend & Co., an Irvine investment bank.

“The gross margins must be close to what they were in the second quarter, which shows excellent cost control,” Gilson said. The company had been expecting deteriorating margins, he added.

Based on the strong quarterly results, Gilson predicted that Wall Street analysts will boost their fiscal 1992 earnings projections for AST from about $2.25 per share to about $2.55.

“Compared to their competitors . . . this is a surprising performance,” Gilson said.