ITT Earnings Decline 33% for 3rd Quarter

ITT Corp.’s third-quarter profits fell 33% to $77 million, but the New York-based conglomerate said its year-to-year profits would have risen 27% except for a one-time gain in the year-earlier quarter.

The company, which is in the middle of selling $1.7 billion in assets to improve its bottom line, said its income was improving in all businesses except telecommunications equipment, which suffered from high costs and weak markets.

The year-earlier quarter was boosted by a one-time gain of $54.7 million from the purchase of ICL, Britain’s largest computer manufacturer, by STC, a company in which ITT has a 24% stake.

Revenue for the third quarter was $4.9 billion, up from a restated $4.7 billion in the third quarter of 1984. Revenue was restated to reflect the sale of numerous businesses in the last year, including Continental Baking Co. and 12 industrial companies.

ITT said its telecommunications group suffered from operating problems in its United Kingdom affiliate, competitive pressures and market weakness in office equipment, lower volumes and margins in telephones and continuing start-up and higher research and development costs for its System 12.

System 12 is ITT’s new telephone switching system, in which it has invested more than $1 billion.

ITT also has interests in insurance, financial services, forest products and industrial goods. The company said insurance and financial services contributed $2 billion to its $4.9 billion in revenue in the third quarter, up from $1.8 billion a year earlier.

It said its operating results in domestic casualty underwriting improved and its portfolios in financial services grew in both commercial and consumer accounts.