Pinkerton’s Reports Loss After Write-Down Overseas

Pinkerton’s Inc., an Encino-based private investigations firm, reported a loss of $13.5 million in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 30, compared with a year-earlier profit of $141,000.

The company attributed the loss partly to an $11.5-million write-down of intangible assets in the company’s foreign operations. The write-down reflected lower earnings in the United Kingdom caused by the recession and increased competition there, and disruption of operations in Mexico from the currency crisis there.

Revenues in the fourth quarter totaled $266 million, nearly equal to the revenues reported in the same three-month period a year earlier. For 1994, the company reported a loss of $10.2 million on revenue of $850 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of $3.2 million on revenue of $772 million.

A lucrative contract with General Motors Corp. contributed to the gain in revenues during 1994, the company said.