COMPANIES

AT&T; Chairman Robert E. Allen said he wants the telecommunications giant’s profits to grow at least 10% a year on average. Allen also said the merger with computer maker NCR Corp., which AT&T; agreed to buy last month for $7.4 billion, was “further along than anybody thought we’d be.” Allen said American Telephone & Telegraph Co.’s acquisition of NCR was intended to further his company’s growth strategy. He said AT&T; wants to be a world leader in “networked computing,” or the linking of computers by telephone lines for customers that have widely dispersed facilities.