Boston Co. Says Profits Overstated by $30 Million

Boston Co.’s profits for the first three quarters of 1988 were overstated by $30 million, more than twice as high as preliminary estimates, officials with the investment firm said.

A spokesman for Shearson Lehman Hutton Inc., Boston Co.’s parent firm, said Friday that a committee of outside auditors and Shearson officers arrived at the higher estimate after an examination of Boston’s financial position.

The spokesman said the panel was trying to determine who was responsible for the overstatement.