EARNINGS : Mercury Savings, Loan Reports Jump in Earnings

Mercury Savings & Loan Assn. reported net income of $3.03 million in earnings for the second quarter, a dramatic rise from the $620,000 the Huntington Beach-based institution reported for the same period last year.

Six-month earnings increased to $3.7 million, from $2.2 million a year earlier.

Mercury’s assets remained at slightly over $2 billion in assets during the entire period.

A spokesman for the S&L; attributed the increases to a variety of factors: lower interest rates that increased the spread between the association’s cost of obtaining funds and the yield on its investments; near-record volume of loans and profits from Mercury’s real estate operations.

AFG Industries Inc. Announces Record Profits

AFG Industries Inc. announced record profits of $4.8 million for the second quarter of 1985, up 12% from the same period a year earlier, when it had profits of $4.3 million. The Irvine-based glass manufacturer had record sales of $76.1 million for the quarter, up 10% from $68.9 million a year ago.

Net income for the six months ended June 30 reached $9 million. A year-earlier income from continuing operations totaled $8 million. An extraordinary gain of $2.9 million from the early retirement of debt in the prior period brought net income to $10.9 million. Revenues for the six-month period were up 11% to a record $147.1 million from $132.7 million a year ago.

The increases were attributed to a continuing strong demand for flat glass products, particularly in the home remodeling market, according to Chairman R.D. Hubbard. Hubbard said new housing activity also remained strong because of availability of affordable mortgages.

Varco International Reports Smaller Losses

Varco International Inc., a maker of oil and gas drilling equipment, Tuesday reported smaller losses for the second quarter and six months. In the second quarter the net loss was $743,000, compared with a net loss of $8.3 million a year earlier. Revenues dropped to $14.3 million from $15.1 million the prior year. The year-ago results were adversely affected by a $2 million provision for the disposal of excess inventory and other assets. The current quarter included $550,000 of non-recurring income from a patent license agreement.

For the first six months of 1985, the net loss was $2.4 million, compared with a net loss of $13.1 million the prior year. Revenues increased slightly to $29.3 million from $29.2 million a year earlier. Incoming orders received during the second quarter totaled $19.7 million, the highest of any quarterly period since the second quarter of 1982.