Among the regional Bell companies, first-quarter profits...

Among the regional Bell companies, first-quarter profits were up 6.1% at Philadelphia-based Bell Atlantic Corp., up 13.5% at Denver-based U S West Inc. and up 7.7% at Atlanta-based Bellsouth Corp. The regional companies spun off from AT&T; in 1984 continued to show steady growth that fell within expectations, said Lapp Lee, an analyst for Salomon Bros. The other four Baby Bells reported their results last week. Profits were up at Ameritech, Nynex Corp. and Pacific Telesis Group, but Southwestern Bell Corp. was the only one to report a down quarter.