Tekelec’s 4th-Quarter Earnings, Revenue Rise

Tekelec said its fourth-quarter profit jumped 87% to $500,000, or 13 cents a share, from $272,000, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 33% to $5 million from $3.8 million a year earlier.

The Calabasas company, which makes equipment that tests telecommunications gear, attributed its fourth-quarter results to strong demand for a device that tests computer communications systems. The company’s sales backlog increased 212% to $2.5 million in the fourth quarter.

For the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, Tekelec earned $749,000, or 20 cents a share, compared to $1.4 million, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue was up 22% to $17 million from $14 million a year earlier. The company said its 1987 results did not match its fourth quarter performance because of a slowdown in spending for telecommunications systems that occured in early 1987.