Sync Research Sees Losses Grow

Sync Research Inc. said Thursday that its losses more than doubled in the fourth quarter and that the company has laid off 30 workers as part of an ongoing reorganization.

The Irvine-based firm, which makes networking and digital transmission devices, reported a loss of $6.6 million, or 38 cents a share, including a $2.6-million restructuring charge, for the three months. A year earlier, the company posted a loss of $2.8 million, or 16 cents a share.

Analysts had expected Sync to post a quarterly loss of 15 cents a share, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research Inc.

Revenue fell 27.5% to $4.5 million from $6.2 million.

Noting that the small high-tech firm is sensitive to changes in large deals, Sync officials blamed the fourth-quarter loss on decisions by customers to delay a couple of major projects until early this year.

“We’ve tried to be a lot of different things to a lot of different people. We haven’t been particularly successful at that,” said William Guerry, chief financial officer.

The job cutbacks, which occurred over the last couple of months, involved various departments, including some sales groups and outside contractual consultants.

Sync also has been consolidating its various facilities but insists that it won’t close any of its offices. After the layoffs, the company’s worldwide staff totaled 130, including about 70 people in Orange County.

For the year, Sync posted a net loss of $15.4 million, or 89 cents a share, compared with a loss of $16.5 million, or 96 cents a share, for 1997. Revenue increased to $24.7 million from $23.3 million.