E. F. Hutton’s 4th-Quarter Loss Totals $133 Million

E. F. Hutton Group Inc. reported a $133.8-million fourth-quarter loss Friday, reflecting the investment firm’s previously announced decision to take a $130-million charge in the period.

The loss compared to a year-earlier loss of $12.2 million. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31, slipped to $685.4 million from $696.9 million.

The latest charge also left the big brokerage house with a $90.3 million loss for all of 1986, compared to profit of $43.7 million in 1985. Annual revenue climbed to $2.76 billion from $2.45 billion.

The $130-million reserve is primarily to compensate Hutton customers that owned some industrial and municipal bonds and other securities products that Hutton has acknowledged were improperly marketed and traded over the past few years.

The reserve also is to cover potential losses on some energy and real-estate tax shelters that Hutton developed before the new tax law limited the tax benefits associated with those shelters.

Part of the reserve also is for severence costs in connection with a recent shake-up in Hutton’s senior management, office consolidation expenses and litigation costs.

The charge, and the events that required it, were the latest in a series of problems at Hutton that began in May, 1985, when it pleaded guilty to 2,000 counts of federal mail and wire fraud stemming from a bank overdrafting scheme.

The charge was taken “after an intensive review during the fourth quarter of the company’s existing products and operations,” Robert P. Rittereiser, president and chief executive, said in a statement.

“Although results for the year were disappointing, with the completion of the review and an extensive planning process, we are now in a strong position for growth and profitability,” he said.