Xircom Inc. Earnings Triple in Third Quarter

Xircom Inc., a computer electronics company in Thousand Oaks, reported a more than three-fold increase in third-quarter earnings compared to a year ago.

The manufacturer of modems and other computer products for mobile and remote personal computers reported sales of $52.2 million for the three months ended June 30, a 216% jump from $16.5 million for the comparable three months in 1995. The record sales resulted in a net income of $2.5 million, which contrasts with a net loss of $48.8 million a year earlier.

Steve DeGennaro, Xircom’s chief financial officer, credited the company’s recent profitability to a greater concentration on its PC Card modem products, which represent 85% of the company’s business.

This refocusing, he said, should prove successful in the long term.

“The real message that should come out of this, relative to a turn-around, is that we have done it in a way that is sustainable,” DeGennaro said. “It’s very easy to come through and turn a company around by slashing prices and cutting costs, but we’ve done it through product growth and product releases.”

DeGennaro said further developments in the PC Card lineup are just around the corner for Xircom.

“In the next four to six months there will be a rapid succession of products turned out,” he said. “We are excited about the prospects short-term, mid-term and long-term and will follow up with continued innovation.”

DeGennaro said three to five new PC card products will probably be released within the year.

“It has realistically been nine months since we’ve put out an entirely new product,” he said. “The product life cycle is about six to 12 months. We’ve never been in a position where products were rolling out this quickly.”