Eastern Airlines Inc. said its loss for...

Eastern Airlines Inc. said its loss for the year narrowed to $37.9 million from $183.7 million a year earlier. It also posted earnings of $10.7 million in the fourth quarter, its second consecutive quarterly profit, compared to a loss of $54.8 million in the fourth quarter of 1983. Miami-based Eastern said the reduction in its annual net loss was “significant” because its 1983 results included a $121.4-million gain from the sale of tax benefits. The earnings improvement was helped by a $367-million bail-out plan approved by the carrier’s 37,000 employees a year ago.

Mellon Bank Corp. said its profit for the full year and fourth quarter fell 14% and 19%, respectively. Mellon, based in Pittsburgh and parent company of the nation’s 15th-largest bank, attributed the lower profits to lower net interest income from international operations and smaller gains from the sale of securities. In addition, the company boosted its provision for loan losses to $116.7 million for the full year from $52.2 million in 1983.

Maynard, Mass.-based Digital Equipment Corp., citing strong demand for new and existing products, said its fiscal second-quarter profit jumped 37% from a year earlier on a 15% revenue gain. The computer maker said demand for its computers and other office-automation products in the latest quarter was “particularly strong” in Western Europe and other overseas markets, and that overall orders rose from both the preceding quarter and the year-earlier quarter.

Transamerica Corp. reported a 13% drop in full-year net income and said that profits for the final quarter of 1984 rose 25%. Earnings for full-year 1984 were lower than those for 1983 due primarily to losses incurred in Transamerica’s property-casualty insurance operations and the related strengthening of Transamerica Insurance Co.’s loss reserves during the 1984 third quarter, the San Francisco-based firm reported.

San Francisco-based Crown Zellerbach Corp. attributed a slight decline in net income for the year ended last Dec. 31 to a non-recurring charge in the fourth quarter. The company also noted that operating earnings in its paper, container, specialty packaging and distribution businesses increased substantially in 1984 from 1983.

Paine Webber Group Inc., said its fiscal first-quarter profit tumbled 35% from a year earlier despite a 21% revenue gain. Paine Webber, whose securities unit is Paine Webber Inc., said that, while investment banking revenue rose in its first quarter ended last Dec. 31, “market conditions continued to negatively impact the firm’s commission business.”