Rockwell Posts $1-Billion Loss

Rockwell International Corp. reported a $1-billion loss for its latest fiscal year because of a previously announced write-off. The diversified technology company said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 9% from a year earlier because of weakness in its avionics, defense electronics and graphics businesses.

The Seal Beach-based concern said it lost $4.62 a share for the year ended Sept. 30. That contrasted with a profit of $600.5 million, or $2.57 a share, for the previous 12-month period. Annual sales fell 8.4% to $10.9 billion from the previous year’s $11.9 billion.

Rockwell took a $1.5-billion charge against earnings to cover projected costs of retiree health care benefits during its second quarter.

The accounting change was required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

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

Fiscal fourth-quarter earnings slid to $138.1 million, or 62 cents per share, from $152.4 million, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier.