Wahlco

Nature of business: Manufactures air pollution control and power efficiency equipment.Total employees: 814 In Orange County: 88 Stock listing in The Times: On NYSE “Wahlco” Ticker symbol: “WAL”

Friday’s stock close: $5.88 One-week change: Unchanged

Analyst review: “Wahlco is surviving a tough market environment. Under the Clean Air Act, utilities must install continuous emission monitoring systems by Nov. 15. With this closer scrutiny, utilities may find that they have more of a pollution problem than originally believed. This could lead to more orders for Wahlco, which owns 85% of the market for the flue gas conditioner, a device that removes particulates. Wahlco has positioned itself well by diversifying into energy-efficiency equipment and developing markets in Australia, Canada, Europe and the Far East. Right now it has to buy time, keep costs down and wait for utilities to commit funding to comply with the Clean Air Act.

--Steven A. Kohl, analyst

Raymond James & Assoc., St. Petersburg

SALES VS. PROFITS

Chart amount in millions

Fiscal year ending Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 3 qtrs. 3 qtrs. 1990 1991 1992 1992 1993 Revenue $57.7 $88.8 $81.9 $64.5 $62.4 Profit (loss) $9.0 $11.6 ($12.8) ($7.9) ($1.4)

Corporate outlook: “The continued delay in North American utility orders associated the Clean Air Act was the determining factor of our third quarter performance. We are pleased with the progress of our staged nitrous oxide reduction system marketing efforts and we continue to implement cost controls and examine strategies to improve profitability.”

--Henry Huta, president/CEO

RETURN ON INVESTMENT 3-YEAR SUMMARY AND YEAR-TO-DATE

Fiscal year ending Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 3 qtrs 1990 1991 1992 1992 1993 52-week high * $16.63 $15.13 $15.00 $15.00 52-week low * $6.13 $7.13 $4.63 $4.75 Book value per share $5.28 $5.61 $4.77 $5.15 Price per share ** $8.63 $12.88 $7.50 $5.00 Net earnings (loss) profit per share $0.55 $0.66 ($0.72) ($0.45) Price-to-earnings ratio 16:1 20:1 N/A N/A Average return on investor equity 10.3% 11.8% N/A N/A

Fiscal year ending 3 qtrs 1990 52-week high * $8.63 52-week low * $5.63 Book value per share $4.65 Price per share ** $6.25 Net earnings (loss) profit per share ($0.08) Price-to-earnings ratio N/A Average return on investor equity N/A

Note: At its initial public offering April 25, 1990, Wahlco Environmental Systems sold 3 million shares; net proceeds $33 million.

For more information call or write, Wahlco Environmental Systems, Inc.: 3600 W. Segerstrom Ave., Santa Ana, Calif., 92704. (714) 979-7300.

Source: Wahlco Environmental Systems, Inc.; Bloomberg Business News. Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times