Union Carbide Posts $543-Million Loss

Union Carbide Corp. posted a $543-million loss for the 1985 third quarter. The loss was the result of a number of special charges related to the corporation’s previously announced restructuring program, the company said.

Eliminating all effects of the special charges, 1985 third-quarter after-tax earnings were $77 million, compared to $77 million in the 1984 third quarter.

Sales for the quarter were $2.25 billion, 4% below the $2.33 billion of a year earlier.

Earnings for the current quarter included an extraordinary gain of $19 million arising from the purchase of certain of the corporation’s sinking-fund debentures below par value.

Gross margin as a percentage of sales was 1.2 percentage points above the third quarter of 1984, resulting in a higher gross margin on lower sales.

Third-quarter 1985 earnings were adversely affected by continuing depressed pricing and foreign competition in the metals and carbons businesses, a very low level of activity in the electronics industry, soft markets for most chemical and plastic products and the temporary shutdown of certain facilities at Institute, W.Va.

The restructuring program, announced by the corporation on Aug. 28 and directed toward enhancing shareholder value, anticipated that special charges for accruals, asset write-downs and depreciation charges would affect 1985 earnings.

The charges to third-quarter earnings amounted to $1.06 billion pretax and $620 million after tax. The full-year impact, including the fourth-quarter depreciation charge, will be $1.08 billion pretax and $628 million after tax.