Southland high-tech executives project robust growth in sales, jobs.

The Southern California high-tech industry is growing, with higher reported revenues and plans to hire more workers, according to a survey of top industry executives by the downtown Los Angeles office of Coopers & Lybrand.

Well over half of those executives participating in the survey said they plan to hire people over the next 12-month period. And more than three-quarters of survey respondents said they plan to expand their operations in the next two or three years.

More than half (51 percent) of the respondents reported revenue growth of 10 percent or more over the previous 12-month period, while 23 percent said their companies' revenues had increased more than 30 percent.

Other findings of the survey include:

* Only 7 percent of respondents said they feel monetary actions by the Federal Reserve Board actually help their companies compete.

* Only 11 percent said actions by the Clinton administration help their business, while 27 percent said the actions either negatively or very negatively effect their businesses.

* The three most-frequently cited reasons for locating in Southern California were available work force (37 percent), lifestyle (28 percent), and available technology (36 percent).

* Respondents said the availability of enterprise zones and continuing training programs, as well as the proximity to customers, were less important factors in their decision to locate in the Southland.

Growth and hiring

"The most important items we learned from this (survey) is that there is growth in the high-tech industry in Southern California, and that high-tech firms are hiring," said Charles Brower, regional marketing manager for Coopers & Lybrand.

Coopers & Lybrand, a major accounting and consulting firm, conducted the survey from late 1994 through the end of February 1995. The results were released this summer.

The firm sent out questionnaires to 3,000 chief executives and other leaders of high-technology companies in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Riverside and San Diego counties. About 250 responded, a return that Brower said is average for such a mailing.

Brower said the results from Los Angeles County respondents essentially reflect those from the larger survey population because most of the respondents were from Los Angeles and Orange counties.

For purposes of the survey, companies were deemed to be "high tech" if they are involved in computer hardware or software, aerospace/defense, biotechnology or multimedia.

Taking its measure

Brower said the survey, the first one of Southland high-tech businesses conducted by the firm, was undertaken to better gauge the potential of the industry.

In general, Coopers & Lybrand concluded: "... it is inevitable that the industry as a whole will fare better in the next two or three years than it has since 1991. However, the opinions expressed are not as strong as to suggest that there will be a boom in the high-tech field."

In the survey, 58 percent of respondents said international sales and operations are becoming more important to their overall expansion. Of the 77 percent who said they plan to expand in the next two to three years, the three primary locations targeted for those expansions are California, other U.S. states and Europe/Asia.

The overwhelming majority of respondents said both the North American Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs have had a positive impact on their businesses.