Perceptronics Foresees Debt Payment Problems

Perceptronics Inc., a Woodland Hills maker of simulators and other training equipment for defense and commercial markets, said it expects to post a loss for its fiscal second quarter ending Wednesday.

The company also said there is the prospect that it will not be able to make a $1.7-million debt payment due Nov. 1, and that it is holding talks with the holders of the debt to resolve the problem.

Perceptronics said its second-quarter loss will stem from higher-than-expected costs related to defense programs, together with lower revenues. In the year-earlier quarter, Perceptronics earned $240,601 on sales of $6.7 million.

Perceptronics Chairman Gershon Weltman said, “It is difficult to characterize the size of the loss at this point.” But he added, “We do not foresee any material improvement” for the company through the rest of its fiscal year.

Separately, Perceptronics said it reached agreement with one of its subcontractors, Tadiran Ltd. of Israel and its Simtech Ltd. unit, to suspend their scheduled arbitration hearing for three months, during which they will negotiate a settlement of their legal dispute.

In January, Perceptronics sued the Israeli company in federal court in Los Angeles, alleging breach of contract and fraud in connection with its work on the Precision Gunnery Training Systems program for the U.S. military. The complaint alleged that Simtech had improperly charged Perceptronics more than $1 million.

Perceptronics said the parties also will use their negotiations to draw up a new production subcontract relating to the training system program.