PairGain Sees First-Quarter Profit Double

Bouncing back from the $15.9-million write-off it took last year for losses at the hands of a rogue investment broker, PairGain Technologies Inc. said Tuesday that its first-quarter profit doubled, to $6.2 million, or 35 cents a share.

Revenue for the three months jumped 112%, to $40.5 million from $19.1 million a year earlier.

PairGain also said Tuesday that it plans to seek shareholder approval for a 2-for-1 stock split at its June 12 annual meeting. A stock split would double the number of shares in the market while lowering the per-share price, making PairGain’s stock more accessible.

The stock closed Tuesday at $76.75 a share, down $1.25 for the day in Nasdaq market trading.

Howard Flagg, president of the high-tech telecommunications equipment maker, attributed the company’s sales and profit increases to continuing strong demand for PairGain’s products. The Tustin company makes devices that improve the capacity of copper telephone lines to carry data and voice transmissions.

PairGain disclosed in November that it had lost $15.9 million because of unauthorized trading by its financial advisor, money manager Jay Goldinger. In January, the company sued Goldinger and his Beverly Hills brokerage, Capital Insight, and said it was restating its 1995 financial results to account for its losses.

Goldinger’s business collapsed in December amid reports that it had lost more than $30 million of clients’ money.

Though it had to write off its investment losses, PairGain still posted a profit of $1 million last year, Flagg said.