P. M. BRIEFING : IBM Reports 1.8% Quarterly Profit

International Business Machines Corp. said today its profits rose 1.8% in the first quarter excluding the effect of an accounting change that had swelled earnings in 1988.

The world’s biggest computer company said it earned $950 million in the three months ended March 31. IBM earned $933 million a year earlier from normal operations, but final net income in 1988 was $1.25 billion after inclusion of a $315-million gain from the accounting change.

Including the effect of the one-time gain in 1988, net income fell 23.9%. The accounting change related to the treatment of deferred taxes.

IBM stock was up $1.50 a share to $110.75 in New York Stock Exchange trading shortly after the announcement. The stock fell last month after the company warned that a problem with chips had delayed shipments of some of its big mainframe computers.