Shares of Anaheim circuit board maker Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc. fell more than 25% on Friday, a day after reporting a quarterly loss and a big drop in sales.
Multi-Fineline, which had a $1 billion market value in spring 2006, now is worth about $250 million on Wall Street.
The company, which makes flexible circuits for cell phones and other devices, lost $6.7 million in the June quarter, versus a profit of $8.3 million a year earlier.
Sales fell 20% to $104.1 million with a decrease in buying by Motorola Inc., which makes up about two-thirds of sales.
The results are the latest in a series of tough breaks for Multi-Fineline. Its shares are down nearly 90% in the past year or so.
The company’s reliance on Motorola used to drive big gains. But a slump at the phone and electronics maker in the past year has hit Multi-Fineline hard.
For the past year, Multi-Fineline also was dogged by the threat of a deal it didn’t want.
The company’s Singaporean parent, WBL Corp. had sought to combine Multi-Fineline with sister company MFS Technology Inc.
Multi-Fineline, which fought the combination, won out in June when the deal was scrapped.
A combination with circuit board maker MFS would have brought even more dependence on Motorola.
The company has been working to diversify. Sales to other customers, including Sweden’s Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, are growing.
Sales to other customers were up in the recently ended quarter, the company said.
