Lear Siegler’s Profit Jumps in 1st Quarter

Lear Siegler Inc., which last week said it was weighing a major restructuring, reported that its net income soared by 41.9% in its first quarter.

The company earned $16.5 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to $11.7 million a year earlier.

Lear Siegler’s revenue for the quarter was a record for the company, rising 12.1% to $597.8 million from $533.4 million.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, profit dropped by 45% to $55.5 million, primarily because of sluggish general-aviation sales and reserves set aside for possible product-liability costs by its Piper Aircraft division.

Besides Piper, Santa Monica-based Lear Siegler is involved in making systems for the military and commercial aerospace industries, machine tools, electronics, and farm and automotive equipment.

The company declined to say why it was studying a major corporate restructuring or what it might entail.

But it was widely believed that Lear Siegler was considering selling some of its less-profitable units and possibly buying back some of its stock because of speculation that the firm might be the target of a takeover attempt.