EARNINGS : Avon Earnings Up to $79 Million

Avon Products Inc. today said fourth-quarter earnings rose to $79 million, or $1.39 a share, compared with a loss of $34.7 million in the 1989 quarter.

Sales increased to $1.12 billion from $1.03 billion, the company said.

For the year, net income increased to $159.3 million, or $2.81 a share, compared with $18.6 million, or 34 cents a share, in 1989.

Sales rose to $3.45 billion from $3.29 billion.

“We now have five consecutive years of sales and pretax earnings increases from our core direct selling business,” said James E. Preston, Avon’s chairman.

Worldwide, Avon, which sells cosmetics, toiletries and jewelry door-to-door and at the workplace, had 1.5 million representatives at year’s end, up 5%. Avon is the fourth-largest cosmetics company in the United States.