County Companies Report Strong 3rd Quarter

Ventura County companies are continuing to report strong sales and earnings performances.

Diodes Inc., a Westlake Village producer of semiconductor products for the automotive, electronics and computer industries, announced record profits and revenues for the quarter ended Sept. 30.

For the period, the company earned $1.3 million, or 24 cents a share, on sales of $15.4 million.

Diodes’ earnings doubled over the same three months last year, when it netted $639,000, or 12 cents a share. Revenues improved 55% over the $9.9 million of a year ago.

David Liu, Diodes’ president and chief executive, attributed much of the improved results to a stepped-up marketing program.

“Ours is very much a service-oriented business,” he said, noting that Diodes is making a concerted effort to tailor its semiconductor components to its customers’ varied needs.

In the first nine months of this year, Diodes earned $3.4 million, or 64 cents a share, on sales of $44.1 million.

A year earlier, profits were $1.7 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $28.1 million.

In Simi Valley, Eltron International Inc., a producer of bar-code label printers and related software and accessories, said its sales and earnings doubled in the third quarter and in the first nine months of this year over the same periods last year.

Profits for the latest three months came to $1.7 million, or 23 cents a share, on revenues of $11.2 million. In the year-earlier period, Eltron netted $823,000, or 13 cents a share, on sales of $4.8 million.

In the first nine months of this year, Eltron had a net profit of $4.5 million, or 66 cents a share, on sales of $29 million. A year earlier, profits were $1.7 million, or 30 cents a share, on sales of $11.4 million.

Donald K. Skinner, Eltron’s chairman and chief executive, said sales in this year’s third quarter were helped by the successful introduction of a new printer that costs less than $1,000. He said supply sales were increased by the recent acquisition of the Donner Media supply concern.

Interlink Electronics Inc., a Camarillo producer of computer pointers, showed a modest operating profit in the third quarter, reversing an operating loss in the third quarter of 1994.

In the three months ended Sept. 30, the company had an operating income of $75,000 versus an operating loss of $145,000 a year earlier.

Interlink had a net profit in this year’s third quarter of $114,000, or 3 cents a share, on sales of $2.8 million.

In the year-earlier quarter, the company sold its interest in a European venture. The sale boosted net profits in the year-ago quarter to $3.3 million, or 56 cents a share, on net revenues of $2.2 million.

In the first nine months of this year, Interlink earned $136,000, or 4 cents a share, on revenues of $7.9 million. This compared with earnings in the first nine months of 1994 of $2.3 million, or 54 cents a share, on revenues of $5.5 million.

Before the non-recurring gain from the sale of the European interest, the company had an operating loss of $1 million.

E. Michael Thoben III, Interlink’s chairman, president and chief executive, said he expects the company to benefit from the upcoming introduction of new products.

One of the products, RemotePoint, is a cordless mouse that will be available for both Windows and Macintosh-compatible computer systems. The device is well-suited for business as well as entertainment uses, Thoben said.