AST Research Reports Its Sales in ’87 Doubled, Mainly in Computer Line
Riding a wave of success from its personal computer business, Irvine-based AST Research said Monday that its sales doubled last year to $412.7 million, while earnings rose a more modest 13%.
Since AST entered the personal computer field in January, 1987, the success of its IBM-compatible products has surprised many experts in the computer industry and on Wall Street. In a fiercely competitive market, AST has rapidly emerged as one of the nation’s top personal computer makers, vying for the No. 3 spot behind rivals IBM Corp. and Compaq Computer.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. July 29, 1988 FOR THE RECORD
Los Angeles Times Friday July 29, 1988 Orange County Edition Business Part 4 Page 6 Column 3 Financial Desk 1 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
AST Research, an Irvine-based computer firm, reported earnings of $15.1 million for the 1988 fiscal year ended June 30. A story in Tuesday’s business section contained an incorrect earnings figure, and the headline referred to the wrong fiscal year.
AST’s earnings suffered during its first year in the personal computer market when the company kept prices of its machines low to try to gain a foothold. The company increased prices earlier this year, and its earnings performance has since improved.
AST’s earnings rose 13% to $16.1 million for the 1988 fiscal year ended June 30. That figure, however, is still well below the company’s 1986 record earnings of $27.2 million, when the company’s primary products were add-on boards to upgrade computers made by other manufacturers.
The company’s earnings showed a strong gain in the latest quarter, leaping 171% to $7.7 million, from $2.9 million a year ago.
AST President Safi Qureshey attributed the company’s strong sales growth primarily to sales of the company’s personal computers.
Also contributing to the increased sales, Qureshey said, was the growth in the number of computer stores that carry the AST personal computer line. Last month, AST announced a distribution agreement with ComputerLand, the nation’s largest computer store chain, that significantly expanded the number of stores carrying AST’s Premium line of personal computers. On Monday, AST announced a similar deal with MicroAge Computer Stores, a Tempe, Ariz.-based computer chain with more than 200 stores worldwide.
As part of the deal, AST said MicroAge has agreed to a “significant†initial purchase of AST equipment, the value of which was not revealed.
AST also said that international sales last year more than doubled to $115 million, up from $54 million in 1987.
