A BUMPY RIDE; REFURBISHER OF AIRLINER CABINS HITS WALL IN EXPANSION PLAN.

Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer

Fields Aircraft Spares Inc.'s 15-month-old move from Van Nuys to Simi Valley, part of an ambitious expansion plan, has hit serious turbulence.

Fields, which replaces cabin interiors for commercial airliners, announced Wednesday a cost-cutting program that includes plans to sublease its headquarters and find a smaller facility in the area. Currently, about 40 people work at the 4175 Guardian St. location - in sales, warehousing, accounting and administration.

Fields also reported a loss of $1.87 million in the first half of the year as sales fell 5.8 percent to $10.73 million. Company officials said its current woes are due to major airlines deferring maintenance because of high demand for air travel.

``The interiors of a lot of cabins are getting pretty shabby,'' noted Alan Fields, president and chief executive officer.

The cost-cutting represents a major reversal from the bullishness of a year ago, when the company signed a 10-year, $8.6 million lease on the 122,000-square-foot plant as part of plans to beef up the work force from 170 to 250.

The company disclosed Wednesday that it has moved its manufacturing operations to Monrovia and cut its staff nearly in half - from 234 to 126 employees, with most cuts coming through layoffs in manufacturing - in the past six months. It estimated the move to Monrovia and subleasing of the Simi Valley headquarters would generate $70,000 in monthly savings.

``The job cuts were a very unpleasant task,'' Fields said. ``We are hoping to rehire people, although they may not be willing to work in Monrovia since most of them live in Ventura County.''

Fields announced Wednesday that he has taken a 20 percent cut in 1999 salary, to $200,000, while Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer Peter Frohlich also reduced his compensation 20 percent to $152,000.

He also issued a bearish outlook for the third quarter, saying service deferrals will continue and revenues will fall to between $4.3 million and $4.7 million. But Fields predicted fourth-quarter revenues will match first- and second-quarter levels of $5.3 million and $5.4 million, respectively.

Last year's growth, which included revenues more than doubling to $23.9 million, included purchases of Monrovia-based Skylock Industries and Van Nuys-based Flightways Manufacturing as part of a strategy to transform Fields from a components supplier to an all-in-one producer/supplier of cabin interiors.

Fields announced in June it was seeking further acquisitions and confirmed Wednesday that it continues to seek buying opportunities. But in another negative development, it warned it might sell one of its subsidiaries if it cannot obtain additional financing.

Aerospace analyst Paul Nisbet of JSA Research said he was uncertain about the prospects for the company. ``They may have been overly optimistic in the past,'' he said. ``What they do should be a fairly steady business since airplane seats get replaced every seven years and there are 12,000 jets in service.''

Fields stock, which was trading in the $7.50-a-share range a year ago, has traded under $4 for the past three months. It closed Wednesday up 18.75 cents to $2.5625.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, chart

PHOTO (1 -- color in Valley only) Alan Fields, Fields Aircraft Spares' president and CEO, reports he and chairman Peter Frohlich took a 20 percent cut in salary.

File Photo

Chart: Descending _ Shares of Simi Valley-based Fields Aircraft Spares Inc. have steadily declined over the past year.