Pinkerton’s Profits Rise to $2.76 Million in Quarter

Pinkerton’s Inc. reported a second-quarter profit of $2.76 million compared with a loss of $574,000 a year earlier, when a one-time charge of $2.8 million put the Van Nuys-based security services company in the red.

Excluding that charge, Pinkerton’s income jumped 24% from $2.22 million a year earlier, and its revenue in the quarter ended June 14 rose 6%, to $142.3 million from $134.1 million.

For the first half of 1991, Pinkerton’s earned $4.23 million, compared with $205,000 a year earlier, when that period’s net income also was lowered by the one-time charge, which stemmed from Pinkerton’s early repayment of debt. Its six-month revenue this year rose 6%, to $283.5 million from $267.6 million.

Separately, Pinkerton’s said it settled a dispute with American Brands Inc. stemming from California Plant Protection’s 1988 purchase of Pinkerton’s from American Brands for $100 million. (CPP changed its name to Pinkerton’s after the takeover.)

In 1989, the “new” Pinkerton’s sued American Brands for $40 million in Superior Court in Los Angeles, alleging that American Brands misrepresented the financial condition of “old” Pinkerton’s before the sale and failed to disclose pending lawsuits and contract disputes, among other things. American Brands denied any wrongdoing.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Daniel C. Weaver, Pinkerton’s chief financial officer, would say only that there was an “adjustment” of the purchase price but that the change would not have a major impact on Pinkerton’s earnings.

Meanwhile, Pinkerton’s directors also adopted a rights plan--commonly known as a poison pill--aimed at deterring unwelcome takeover bids. Under the plan’s key feature, if a hostile suitor acquires 20% or more of Pinkerton’s stock, the remaining stockholders are entitled to buy Pinkerton’s stock at a discount.

The idea is to make a hostile bid prohibitively expensive for the unwelcome bidder, and many companies have similar plans in place.