Profit Up, Sales Down at Republic Resources

Republic Resources Inc. said net earnings of $100,173 for its second fiscal quarter, ended April 30, represented a 6% increase from the $94,136 reported for the same period a year earlier. The Newport Beach jojoba bean research and development firm had sales of $269,422 for the quarter, down 8% from sales of $293,584 for the year-earlier quarter.

Net income for the first six months was $112,300, up 10% from the $101,970 reported for the first half of Republic’s fiscal 1984. Sales for the six months were $490,954, down 55% compared to $1.1 million in the year-earlier period.

Chairman John O’Donnell attributed the increase in net income to improved performance in the company’s leasing of its jojoba plantations in Desert Center and Blythe, and to investment tax credits on equipment. Richard Murphy, vice president of finance, said that revenues dropped because of a decline in new sales contracts, and the cost of repurchasing the royalty rights to profits from the jojoba bean sales of seven limited partnerships affiliated with Republic. Jojoba bean oil is used in shampoo and cosmetics as well as for machine lubrication.