Erly Sees 2nd-Quarter Loss on Low Revenue

Erly Industries Inc. said it expects a loss in its fiscal second quarter because of problems in its American Rice Inc. unit and lower sales of fire-control chemicals. The Los Angeles-based food and chemicals producer said it will report final results for the quarter in a few weeks. Erly said it had “substantially lower revenue” at its Fire-Trol unit because there were fewer forest fires this year, cutting demand for its fire-control chemicals. Erly also said it will be hurt by losses at its 81%-owned American Rice, which was unable to ship rice to merchants in Saudi Arabia because of a legal dispute with a processing firm. Erly said it has signed a packaging agreement with a firm in Jordan and is once again shipping to Saudi Arabia. The announcement came as dissident shareholders led by the Powell Group seek to unseat current officers and directors for allegedly squandering assets and mismanaging the firm’s rice business. Erly shares rose 38 cents to close at $8.13 on Nasdaq.