AT&T; Profit Dips; Pacific Telesis and GTE Report Gains

American Telephone & Telegraph Co. said Wednesday that its profit slipped 0.3% in the second quarter as revenue rose 4.3%.

Pacific Telesis Group, the San Francisco-based regional Bell holding company, said its earnings rose 21.6% in the quarter. GTE Corp., one of the two parents of US Sprint Communications Co., reported a 34% increase in profit.

AT&T; said it earned $594 million, down from $596 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to $8.76 billion from $8.40 billion.

For the six months, profit rose 4.3% to $1.09 billion from $1.04 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.5% to $17.11 billion from $16.52 billion.

“These are good earnings and match last year’s quarter--our best since divestiture,” Robert E. Allen, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “But we aim to do better than match.”

Allen reiterated that the company expects to improve its profitability this year.

Product sales rose 14.5% from last year’s second quarter, reaching their highest level in three years, the company said. AT&T; said sales rose for private phone switches, computers, network equipment, consumer products, microelectronic components and products for the government.

Revenue from services, largely long-distance, rose 2.8%.

Pacific Telesis Group’s earnings were helped by consolidating and restructuring during 1987, the company said.

“We’re now reaping the benefits of those efforts,” Sam Ginn, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

Broad Gains Cited

The company reported earnings of $321 million on revenue of $2.37 billion during the second three months of 1988, compared to earnings of $264 million on revenue of $2.27 billion in the 1987 quarter.

Ginn said growth in the California marketplace was continuing to benefit Pacific Telesis’ core business. PacTel is the parent company of Pacific Bell.

Access lines in service increased 4% over 1987’s second quarter, toll messages rose 8.7% and access minutes went up 11%, the firm said.

For the six months, Pacific Telesis earned $621 million on revenue of $4.67 billion, compared to $498 million on revenue of $4.41 billion during 1987’s first two quarters.

GTE announced that its board had approved an agreement under which it will sell 30.1% of its stake in US Sprint to United Telecommunications early next year for book value, which will probably exceed $600 million. That would leave GTE with a 19.9% share.

GTE, based in Stamford, Conn., said its second-quarter earnings would have been flat except for special factors. GTE earned $299 million, up from $223 million a year earlier. The latest quarter included a $17-million, one-time accounting gain in contrast with a $54-million after-tax charge against earnings in the second quarter of 1987 related to US Sprint.

Revenue rose 9% to $4.2 billion from roughly $3.85 billion.

For the first half, GTE earned $586 million, compared to a profit of $488 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 8% to $8.2 billion from about $7.6 billion.