Tandon Posts $24-Million Loss in 3rd Quarter

Tandon Corp., a personal-computer maker still mired in red ink, posted a third-quarter loss of $24 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $35 million.

The latest loss in the quarter ended Sept. 30 included a $17.8-million loss from continuing operations, and a $5.1-million loss from its now discontinued business of selling its PCs through mass merchants such as office-supplies warehouses.

The Moorpark-based company announced earlier this month that it had stopped selling through those channels as part of its plan to largely abandon the U.S. market and focus on Europe, where it sells about 85% of its products.

Tandon said the loss also reflected an $8-million reserve related to its decision to phase out its manufacturing plant in Vienna, Austria, in favor of using lower-cost outside producers in Asia and Europe.

The company’s third-quarter sales from its continuing operations fell 13%, to $72.5 million from $83.7 million.

For the first nine months of this year, Tandon lost $42.3 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $28.3 million, and its nine-month sales were off 19%, to $249.5 million from $308.7 million.