RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. reported a small...

RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. reported a small first-quarter loss due to the repurchase of expensive debt, but without that one-time cost, the food and tobacco giant’s earnings rose nearly 28-fold.

The company lost $15 million in the three months ending March 31, contrasted with earnings of $5 million a year earlier. Per-share results showed a loss of 2 cents compared to a loss of 8 cents a year earlier.

Per-share losses reflected the payment of preferred stock dividends and an increase in the number of shares outstanding this year.

The first-quarter results also included a $159-million after-tax accounting charge to reflect the cost of repurchasing a portion of the high-cost junk bonds that helped finance the RJR takeover by the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in 1989.

First-quarter sales totaled $3.64 billion, up 5% from the $3.47 billion a year earlier.