AT&T; Income Advances 6.6% During Quarter

American Telephone & Telegraph Co. on Wednesday reported a 6.6% jump in first-quarter earnings, as long-distance calls and products sales rose despite the recession.

The New York-based telephone giant said earnings rose to $712 million on revenue of $9.19 billion.

“These are very satisfying results. In spite of the current recession, we experienced strong long-distance calling volumes, gins in product sales fueled by international expansion of our business and substantial growth in financial services revenues,” Chairman Robert Allen said in a statement.

The results for the quarter include a pretax $43-million gain from the sale of an interest in the UNIX System Laboratories Inc. subsidiary.

In remarks prepared for delivery to the annual shareholders meeting, Allen said he remains confident that an acquisition of computer maker NCR Corp. will be completed.

AT&T; first launched its $6.12-billion offer for NCR, worth $90 a share, in December. NCR has rejected the bid, insisting it is worth at least $110 a share, or $7.48 billion.

Industry analysts said they were pleased by the phone giant’s earnings.

In the quarter, AT&T; said, calling volumes rose 8%, with international, WATS, residential and 800 services showing gains. But revenue was essentially level as customers continue to choose lower-priced services.

Sales of products and systems, such as telephone systems, computer and consumer products, rose 7.2%

Revenue from rental and other services fell 4.5%, while financial services and leasing, which includes the Universal credit card, posted a sharp increase in revenue.