Chrysler Sales Up, Earnings Dip

Chrysler Corp. said today its second-quarter earnings fell 2.4% from a year earlier despite higher sales.

Chairman Lee Iacocca called the decline a short-term sacrifice that was part of the auto maker’s game plan for increasing its market share. Chrysler earned $320.4 million, or $1.45 per share, during the three months ending June 30, compared with $424.1 million, or $1.98 per share, in the second quarter of 1987, a company statement said. During the quarter, the nation’s No. 3 auto maker said it continued to hold the line on 1988 model prices, with 42% of the passenger cars it sold priced below 1987 levels.