EARNINGS : Data General Reverses, Gains

Ending a nearly two-year string of losses, Data General Corp. today reported a $12.4-million profit for the first three months of its fiscal year but voiced caution about its short-term prospects.

Ronald L. Skates, president of the Westboro-based computer company, said the results indicate that Data General’s strategy “is correct and on target.”

Data General last reported a quarterly profit during the second three-month period of 1989, when the company earned $7 million.

For the quarter that ended Dec. 29, Data General’s profit amounted to 41 cents per share. It lost $20.5 million, or 69 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.

Data General now employs about 9,400 people, down from a peak of 17,700 in 1985, the last time the company reported a profit for an entire year.