THE TIMES 100 : The Best Performing Companies in California : THE BOTTOM LINE : Real Estate Slump Splashes Red Ink in 6 of 11 Largest Losses : Bottom line: Banks and thrifts are hit especially hard. Last year’s list included a broader group of companies.

The nation’s real estate slump figured prominently in the red ink that engulfed bottom lines at six of the 11 companies that had the largest losses last year--a departure from previous Times 100 loser lists, when the recession spread deficits among a broader group of companies.

This year’s list of 25 largest losers from continuing operations was led by troubled HomeFed Bank, which lost $808 million in 1991, largely from investments in commercial real estate development projects during the 1980s. Those investments began to go sour as the 1990s dawned and led to a string of quarterly losses until HomeFed posted a profit for the quarter ended March 31.

Although San Diego-based HomeFed also was among the 10 companies with the greatest losses in 1990, that list featured a broader range of companies mostly unconnected with real estate--including a restructuring Occidental Petroleum and an insurance company done in by its junk bonds. By contrast, the new list was dominated by firms with exposure to real estate: three thrifts, two banks and a home builder.

The home builder, J. M. Peters of Newport Beach, ranked ninth on the latest Times list with $109 million in losses. The company was hurt by a severe downturn in the Southern California housing market and a pronounced market shift to inexpensive, entry-level homes from the more expensive “move-up” houses that Peters specialized in building.

Likewise, bad real estate loans hurt two other Southern California thrifts on the list: eighth-ranked CalFed Inc. of Los Angeles, which showed $132 million in losses, and 11th-ranked Glenfed Inc., $98 million in losses.

Officials of Glenfed, the holding company for Glendale Federal Bank, the nation’s fourth-largest savings and loan, said they have been hurt both by bad real estate loans and lackluster home sales. Mortgage loan origination volume in fiscal 1991 amounted to $4.57 billion, down 14% from the fiscal year ended June 30, 1990, the company has reported.

CalFed suffered much the same pummeling from real estate as Glenfed. Farther down the list, the San Francisco-based real estate firm of Grubb & Ellis Co. was another casualty.

Rounding out the list of companies hurt by the real estate slump were two of the nation’s biggest banks.

Security Pacific Bancorp., which is being acquired by BankAmerica in what experts say is the biggest bank merger in U.S. history, rolled up $775 million in losses last year, ranking Security Pacific of Los Angeles second among companies with the biggest losses from continuing operations.

Ironically, the other bank on the list, First Interstate Bancorp., the Los Angeles parent of First Interstate Bank of California, has emerged in recent months as a potential buyer of banks despite a real estate-fueled loss of $288 million in 1991. The loss placed First Interstate fifth on the losers’ list. But First Interstate officials said they expect the bank to return to profitability this year.

The companies making up the balance of the top 10 list rolled up big losses for a variety of reasons.

The biotechnology firm Chiron, Emeryville, placed third among companies with the biggest losses because of the high research costs it has run up exploring leading-edge technology in cancer and antiviral drugs.

Meanwhile, 10th-ranked Home-stake Mining, San Francisco, a leading gold producer, was hurt by the slumping price of the ore, and National Semiconductor, Santa Clara, ranked sixth on the list, was hurt by the sluggish demand for semiconductors.

Two movie companies were on the list. Big spending by officials of MGM Pathe Communications Corp., Culver City, helped the film studio run up $353 million in losses last year. It placed fourth.

Carolco Pictures Inc. of Los Angeles placed sixth on the list. It has attributed its losses to a number of factors, including $88.4 million for costs related to a financial restructuring and $75.6 million on its lineup feature films, whose production and marketing costs were said to outstrip box-office receipts.

Nose Dives

Companies ranked by absolute change from profit to loss in one year.

Change 1991 loss 1990 income in income Rank Company ($ millions) ($ millions) ($ millions) 1 Security Pacific Corp (774.5) 161.3 (935.8) 2 First Interstate Bancorp (288.1) 438.7 (726.8) 3 Chiron Corp (425.2) 4.0 (429.3) 4 Carolco Pictures Inc. (225.7) 17.3 (243.0) 5 Tandem Computers Inc (66.5) 98.1 (164.6) 6 J.M. Peters Co. (108.8) 5.1 (113.9) 7 Seagate Technology (11.1) 99.7 (110.8) 8 Teledyne Inc (25.4) 69.2 (94.6) 9 Alza Corp (62.1) 24.7 (86.7) 10 Maxtor Corp (65.8) 10.8 (76.6)

*See exceptions, Page 55.

Source: MZ Group. Certain historical data is from Standard & Poor’s Compustat Inc.