Xircom off to Strong Start in 1997 as Sales Surge

Xircom Inc. in Thousand Oaks reported that net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 1997 increased 65% to $62.3 million, compared with $37.7 million for the first quarter of the previous year.

Net income for the first quarter, which ended Dec. 31, was $4.5 million, or 22 cents per share. This compared with a net loss of $760,000 or 4 cents per share for the prior-year period.

Company officials said net sales of PC card products grew to $56.3 million, an increase of 67% over the first quarter of fiscal 1996 and a 15% increase over fiscal 1996’s fourth quarter. Net sales for Net-access, Xircom’s remote-access subsidiary, were $6 million, an increase of 54% over the first quarter of fiscal 1996 and a 33% decrease compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 1996.

“Our continuing strategy is to focus the Xircom brand on its core PC card business,” said Dirk I. Gates, chairman, president and CEO. “This strategy has had a very favorable impact on our bottom line.”

To that end, Xircom announced an alliance with Intel Corp. consisting of a $52-million equity investment in the company by Intel and a three-year technology and multimillion-dollar manufacturing agreement.

The agreement gives Intel a 12.5% stake in Xircom, which makes PC cards that help connect portable computers to corporate networks.