Odetics Deep in the Red for First Time in 26 Years : Sales: Anaheim firm reports $4.7 million in losses for fiscal 1995. More than 100 jobs have been cut.

The loss of a major customer late last year has led Anaheim robotics and data recorder maker Odetics Inc. deep into red ink for the first time in 26 years and has driven it to cut more than 100 jobs in recent months.

Calling fiscal 1995 “the most challenging year” in the company’s history, Chairman Joel Slutzky on Thursday said Odetics lost $4.7 million for the 12 months ended March 31, or 80 cents per share.

Slutzky blamed grim fourth-quarter sales, when the company lost $1.9 million, for most of the annual loss. Its poor performance followed the loss of a major tape libraries contract with E-Systems Inc. of Dallas that accounted for 7% of revenue.

Odetics is pursuing legal action against E-Systems, seeking damages for an alleged breach of contract. A company spokeswoman said she could not comment further on the litigation.

In the wake of that loss, Odetics laid off or accepted early retirements from about 100 workers, which meant spending an additional $416,000 on severance agreements, the company said. It now has 450 employees worldwide, including 400 at its Orange County headquarters.

To become profitable again, the company will rely on growing demand for its video security and broadcast products, Slutzky said.

Randall Svedbeck, an analyst for the Red Chip Review, published by Crown Point Publishing in Portland, Ore., said Odetics also may be considering selling off a division.

“There is some overlap between the research they do for all their different business lines, but I think they’re wrestling with whether they should be in all of them or evaluating what kind of offers they can get if they sell one,” Svedbeck said.

Odetics’ fiscal 1995 loss contrasts with a profit of $1.8 million, or 34 cents per share, the year before. Revenue of $87.7 million was up 4% from $84.2 million the year before.

For the three months ended March 31, Odetics reported a loss of $1.9 million, or 33 cents per share, compared to a profit of $830,000, or 14 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

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Odetics Inc.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, Odetics Inc. reported a net loss of $4.7 million, despite a 4% increase in revenue. Figures in thousands of dollars, except per-share data:

4th qtr 4th qtr 12 months 12 months 1994 1995 1994 1995 Revenue $23,192 $19,636 $84,162 $87,743 Net income (loss) 830 (1,929) 1,822 (4,671) Per share (loss) 0.14 (0.33) 0.34 (0.80)

Source: Odetics Inc.; Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times