Rockwell Puts Loss for Year at $1 Billion : Write-off: Anticipated health care costs for retirees cause $4.62-a-share red ink for year after $1.5-billion charge.

Because of a previously announced write-off for anticipated health-care costs for retirees, Rockwell International Corp. reported a $1-billion loss for its latest fiscal year.

The diversified technology company said it lost $4.62 a share for the year that ended Sept. 30. That contrasted with a profit of $600.5 million, or $2.57 a share, for the previous 12 months. Annual sales were $10.9 billion, down 8.4% from $11.9 billion.

During the second quarter of fiscal 1992, Rockwell took a $1.5-billion charge against earnings to cover costs it expects for retirees’ health-care benefits. The accounting change, which did not affect the company’s cash flow or its debt rating, was required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

Without that onetime charge, the company would have posted an annual profit of $483 million, or $2.16 a share.

Rockwell’s backlog of orders also slipped during the fiscal year, falling 11% to $14.6 billion as of Sept. 30. That compared to a $16.5-billion backlog a year earlier.

And Rockwell’s worldwide employment dropped during the year to 79,000 from 87,000.

The financial results were no surprise on Wall Street, said George Podrasky, an analyst with the investment bank Duff & Phelps Inc. in Chicago.

“It appears the cyclical businesses could be coming back for 1993,” he said.

Rockwell stock closed at $26 a share, up 12.5 cents, in Wednesday’s trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Donald R. Beall, Rockwell’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement that, although the year was a tough one for the company, he was pleased with the performance considering the difficult economic conditions and cuts in the defense and space budgets.

Beall predicted that cost-containment programs will enable the company to post earnings gains in 1993, even if the economy stays flat. Michael Barnes, chief financial officer, added that the new Clinton-Gore Administration is not likely to affect the company’s outlook.

“We think they will be strong supporters of defense and aerospace programs,” Barnes said.

During its fourth fiscal quarter, Rockwell’s earnings slide continued. The company reported a profit of $138.1 million, down 9% from $152.4 million for the same period a year earlier. Quarterly earnings per share were 62 cents, compared to 66 cents a year earlier.

Bill Mellon, a Rockwell spokesman, said the company was encouraged by a fourth-quarter improvement in its automotive-parts manufacturing business. For the year, the automotive unit’s operating earnings increased 81%.

But he said Rockwell’s graphics business, which makes newspaper printing presses, and its avionics operations were particularly weak because of the global recession. The company’s electronics and aerospace businesses also posted lower operating earnings.

Excluding a gain from last year’s sale of a business unit, however, earnings for the fourth quarter were up 2%, the company said. Quarterly sales were $2.9 billion, compared to $3 billion for the same period last year.