ORANGE COUNTY

Quiksilver Profit Plunges Despite Cutbacks: Despite an aggressive cost-containment program that included layoffs, surf-wear maker Quiksilver Inc. reported Wednesday that profit plunged 74% for its latest fiscal quarter. The Costa Mesa company, one of California’s larger designers and marketers of surf wear, said it earned $522,000, or 8 cents a share, for its third fiscal quarter, which ended July 31. That was down from a profit of $2 million for the same period a year earlier. Sales fell 15% to $21.9 million.

Analysts said that, in the face of tough market conditions, the company’s performance was in line with earlier expectations. Quiksilver stock closed unchanged at $5.125 a share.

Chairman and Chief Executive Robert B. McKnight Jr. attributed the poor results to stiff competition and slow domestic sales, which dropped 26% to $15.9 million. The overseas market was a bright spot for Quiksilver, he said, with sales rising 35% to $5.99 million.

McKnight said that a reduction of employee compensation and a consolidation of operations, which began in February and included 50 layoffs, will save the company $2 million in the current fiscal year. That would represent a 10% reduction of operational costs from the previous 12 months.