Cipher Data Products, a manufacturer of computer...

Cipher Data Products, a manufacturer of computer tape drives, reported a 130% increase in second-quarter net income on a slight increase in sales. The company’s backlog is up 24% from the year-ago figure.

Net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 was $2.2 million, up from $954,000 over last year. Second-quarter sales were $45.4 million, only slightly better than the $45.2 million reported last year. Backlog as of Dec. 31 was $47.1 million, up from last year’s $38.1 million.

Cipher Data President Gary Liebl attributed the improved profits on flat sales to a “carefully structured financial-management program.”

For the first six months of the fiscal year, Cipher Data’s year-to-date net income stands at $2.8 million, up from $2 million over the same two quarters last year. Sales stand at $84.7 million, down from the $90-million revenue to date a year ago.