Sears Income Increases 35.5% in Quarter

Sears, Roebuck & Co. said Tuesday that its earnings jumped in the fourth quarter and for all of 1991, but much of the rise was caused by a restructuring charge taken a year earlier.

Chicago-based Sears, the nation’s third-largest retailer, said net income jumped 35.5% in the quarter that ended Dec. 31 to $513.1 million, or $1.48 a share, from $378.8 million, or $1.10 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 2.6% to $15.97 billion from $15.56 billion.

Income in the fourth quarter of 1990 was reduced by a pretax charge of $264.4 million to pay for the one-time costs associated with a restructuring program.

Sears fell 37.5 cents to $39.875 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.

The long-term savings from the restructuring program were a major factor boosting 1991’s results, Sears Chairman Edward Brennan said in a statement.

He said that despite the prolonged recession, all Sears business groups had improved performances over the prior year.

Fourth-quarter earnings at Sears Merchandise Group rose to $289.1 million from $95.6 million in 1990, when results were depressed by the restructuring charge.

Aided by the surging stock market, the Dean Witter Financial Services Group said fourth-quarter income surged nearly 48%.

For the year, Sears’ net income jumped 41.8% to $1.28 billion from $902.2 million in 1990. Revenue rose 2.3% to $57.24 billion from $55.97 billion.