Westinghouse Profit Rises Despite Drop in Revenue

Westinghouse Electric Corp. said Monday that its profit grew 10.9% in the fourth quarter despite an equal-sized decline in its revenue. Westinghouse said its earnings in the fourth quarter totaled $203.2 million, up from $183.1 million in the final three months of 1985.

Fourth-quarter sales declined to $2.87 billion from $3.22 billion a year earlier.

Westinghouse said its full-year 1986 earnings reached $670.8 million, a 10.8% increase over $605.3 million in 1985. Revenue was flat at $10.7 billion, but if adjusted for the June, 1986, sale of Group W Cable Television, sales would have risen 3%.

The company said it realized a pretax gain of $651 million in the sale of Group W Cable Television and recorded a $790-million charge for expenses in restructuring its businesses. Because of different tax rates on the two one-time items, they canceled each other out, the firm said.

Chairman Douglas D. Danforth said the company had profit margins of 8.1% in 1986, compared to 6.9% for 1985 and 5.9% for 1984.