EARNINGS REPORTS.Byline: Deborah Adamson, Enrique Rivero and Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News A handful of large, local companies reported fourth-quarter and annual earnings Tuesday. Among them: Eltron International Inc., the Simi Valley-based thermal printer See direct thermal printer and thermal wax transfer printer. manufacturer, said quarterly earnings fell slightly from year-ago levels on thinner profit margins and one-time charges. Wall Street was not amused a·muse tr.v. a·mused, a·mus·ing, a·mus·es 1. To occupy in an agreeable, pleasing, or entertaining fashion. 2. ; shares of Eltron fell 3-5/8 to $21 on trading of 2 million shares, 30 times the average daily volume. Eltron earned $2.2 million, or 28 cents per diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from net income of $2.3 million (30 cents) in the like period a year ago. Revenues jumped 26 percent, to $28.7 million from $22.7 million. For the entire year, the company's net income soared 64 percent to $11.6 million, ($1.49) vs. $7.1 million (91 cents) in 1996. Annual revenues increased 19 percent to $105 million, the first time that Eltron's sales passed the $100 million mark. The company attributed the strong annual results to increased sales of thermal label printers, plastic card printers and related supplies. But business with the United Parcel Service United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS), commonly referred to as UPS, is the world's largest package delivery company, delivering more than 15 million packages[1] a day to 6.1 million customers in over 200 countries and territories around the world. , which at 21 percent of sales is Eltron's biggest customer, declined 19 percent during the year. During the fourth quarter, sales to UPS increased by 69 percent from the like period in 1996. Donald K. Skinner Skin·ner , B(urrhus) F(rederick) 1904-1990. American psychologist. A leading behaviorist, Skinner influenced the fields of psychology and education with his theories of stimulus-response behavior. , Eltron chairman and chief executive officer, said the quarter was affected by start-up costs for a new bar code label printer. Some nonrecurring expenses and a change in tax rates for the year also impacted fourth-quarter earnings. Richard W. Davis, president of Richard W. Davis & Co. in Sunnyvale, does not expect the problems encountered in the fourth quarter to persist. ``I regard this as a well-managed company. I think this is more or less a one-quarter hiccup hiccup or hiccough, involuntary spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm followed by a sharp intake of air, which is abruptly stopped by a sudden, involuntary closing of the glottis (opening between the vocal cords); the consequent blocking of air . They handle competition well,'' he said. ``I continue to like this stock.'' 3D Systems Corp. of Valencia said Tuesday it lost $2.6 million in the 1997 fourth quarter after taking one-time charges of $2.1 million related in part to the restructuring restructuring - The transformation from one representation form to another at the same relative abstraction level, while preserving the subject system's external behaviour (functionality and semantics). of its European operations. The loss, equal to 22 cents a share, compares to net income of $1.7 million (14 cents) in the 1996 fourth quarter. Revenue totaled $24.7 million, up 12 percent from $22.1 million. For the year, 3D Systems reported a loss of $4.6 million (40 cents) vs. net income of $4.6 million (39 cents) in 1997. Revenue totaled $90.3 million, up 13 percent from $79.6 million in the prior year. The company reported its earnings after the market closed. MRV Communications  OverviewMRV NASDAQ: MRVC is a company that designs, manufactures, sells, distributes, integrates and supports communication equipment and services, and optical components. went south, plunging plunge v. plunged, plung·ing, plung·es v.tr. 1. To thrust or throw forcefully into a substance or place: by 5 1/32 to close at 23 15/16. ``Part of it is the market. Also, their receivables and inventory were higher in the fourth quarter than the third quarter,'' said Amar Senan, an analyst at Volpe Brown Whelan in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden . Edmund Glazer, chief financial officer of the Chatsworth-based maker of networking and fiber optics fiber optics, transmission of digitized messages or information by light pulses along hair-thin glass fibers. Each fiber is surrounded by a cladding having a high index of refractance so that the light is internally reflected and travels the length of the fiber products, was unhappy with Wall Street's reaction. ``We felt we had an excellent quarter.'' For the year ended Dec. 31, MRV's net income was $22.6 million (88 cents) on revenues of $165.5 million vs. a net loss of $9.65 million (49 cents) on revenues of $88.8 million in 1996. Previous year's results include one-time restructuring and other charges of $24.8 million. Fourth-quarter earnings were $7.1 million (25 cents) compared with $1.7 million (7 cents) a year ago. Revenues were $48.4 million vs. $31 million. Cheesecake Factory Inc., which operates a nationwide restaurant chain, on Tuesday reported double-digit growth in earnings and sales for the quarter and year. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company said it earned $2.9 million (24 cents) compared to $500,000 (5 cents) from the like period in 1996. Sales totaled $58.8 million, an increase of 35 percent from $43.5 million in the 1996 final quarter. For the year the company earned $9.9 million (87 cents) vs. $5.9 million (53 cents) in 1996. Annual revenues totaled $208.6 million, a 30 percent increase from $160.3 million in 1996.The Calabasas-based company reported its earnings after the market closed. |
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