Datametrics Has 91% Drop in 4th-Quarter Earnings

Datametrics Corp., a Chatsworth-based producer of computer printers and other communications products, reported a sharp drop in earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter compared with a year earlier.

For the three months that ended Oct. 31, the company earned $44,000, down 91% from a net income of $475,000 in the same period a year earlier. Quarterly revenue, however, was up 28% to $7.78 million, from $6.1 million, mainly because of the company’s acquisition of Rugged Digital Systems Inc. in the quarter.

For its fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, Datametrics reported a 10% increase in earnings to $1.48 million, from $1.34 million a year earlier. However, that was the result of a one-time benefit to income of $938,000 from the adoption of new accounting standards. Excluding that, the company’s fiscal-year profit actually dropped 60% from a year earlier. Revenue for the latest fiscal year totaled $24 million, up 7% from $22.4 million a year earlier.