General Automation Reports Profit of $144,000 for Year

General Automation Inc., a business computer and software company, reported a profit of $144,000, or 1 cent a share, on sales of $45.2 million for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The company said earnings were affected by a $490,000 write-off of a subsidiary and an extraordinary gain of $1 million resulting from adjustments to estimates of tax liabilities. For the previous year, the company posted a profit of $296,000, or 3 cents a share, on sales of $48.6 million.