Pinkerton’s Profit Soars on 15% Revenue Increase

Pinkerton’s Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit soared 47% from a year earlier as its revenue climbed 15%.

The Van Nuys-based provider of security guards and services said net income in the quarter ended Dec. 27 rose to $5.28 million from $3.60 million, while its revenue increased to $208.2 million from $180.5 million.

Pinkerton’s attributed the gains in the quarter and during all of 1991 to clients’ repeat business, a marketing plan that stressed quality rather than price-cutting and several acquisitions.

The company’s net income for 1991 nearly doubled, to $12.6 million from $6.6 million the previous year, when Pinkerton’s profit was reduced by a onetime $2.8-million charge related to its early retirement of some debt. Its annual revenue rose 9%, to $637.8 million from $583.6 million.