Steel, Oil Units Boost Profit of USX Corp.

USX Corp., supported by strong earnings in its steel and Marathon Oil subsidiaries, Tuesday reported a third-quarter profit of $140 million, up sharply from a third-quarter loss last year.

USX said the third-quarter profit of 46 cents per share came on sales of $3.9 billion, contrasted with a third-quarter loss of $183 million on sales of $3.3 billion last year.

For the first nine months, USX reported a profit of $233 million on sales of $10.6 billion. During the same period of 1986, it posted a loss of $418 million on sales of $12.2 billion.

The company’s Marathon Oil and Texas Oil & Gas subsidiaries reported operating income of $120 million on sales of $2.5 billion in the third quarter, contrasted with an operating loss of $12 million on sales of $2 billion in the third quarter a year ago.

Its USS steel division reported operating income of $150 million on sales of $1.1 billion in the third quarter, contrasted with an operating loss of $123 million on sales of $790 million in the third quarter of 1986, a period that includes the strike by United Steelworkers of America members at USX steel mills.

USX said $66 million of its steel division operating income came through the sale of its Geneva Works in Provo, Utah, and $11 million came from a change in accounting to include certain manufacturing overhead costs in inventory costs.

Chairman David M. Roderick said continuous caster and hot strip mill improvements at Fairfield, Ala., will increase the company’s raw steel production capability by 10% in December, 1988.