(from www.sec.gov)
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Allied Research Corp. |
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From the April 28, 1997 Washington Post
| '96 (in $ 000s) | % Change From '95 | |
| Revenue | 104,000 | 58.3 |
| Net Income | 4,800 | -- |
Description:
Allied Research makes munitions for foreign governments such as Saudi Arabia, upgrades military hardware for the U.S. Army and foreign militaries, and designs commercial security systems.
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Allied Research's prospects picked up last year, as the company continued to land new work in its main lines of business, and continued to cut expenses.
The company ran into trouble soon after the Persian Gulf War, when Saudi Arabia and the Gulf nations first launched a weapons buying spree, then dramatically reduced their purchases as oil prices plummeted. Coming just as the Pentagon reduced orders, the drop in business left the firm with too many workers and too much plant space.
These difficulties were exacerbated by the location of Mecar SA ammunition division plants in Belgium, where laws make layoffs a slow, costly exercise. The company finally got its costs in line last year by increasingly relying on temporary workers there. This helped Allied Research achieve profitability in 1996—a turnaround from a $2 million loss in 1995.
Overall, Allied has trimmed its work force over the past four years from 600 to about 500. That includes 130 new employees at another Belgian firm that it bought in 1994. That company, VSK, designs security systems for European and U.S. banks. Allied Research executives hope this growing business will reduce the firm's reliance on defense work—a quirky industry whose ups and downs they've found hard to foretell.
Meanwhile, the firm is hustling for new Middle Eastern business for its main money-making unit, which makes tank and armored vehicle ammunition. It's also prospecting for new work in Europe for another division, which modernizes artillery for foreign militaries.
