Unocal’s Income Declines 14%; Cigna Turns 3rd-Quarter Profit

Unocal Corp. said Monday that its third-quarter profit slipped 14% on lower natural gas prices and narrower profit margins on gasoline production and sales.

The Los Angeles-based oil company earned $60 million, or 21 cents a share, down from $70 million, or 25 cents a share, for the July-September period of 1993.

Revenue rose 3%, to $2.02 billion from $1.96 billion.

Roger C. Beach, Unocal’s chief executive, said reduced refining and marketing margins hurt results, as did significantly lower natural gas prices.

On the plus side, Beach said, worldwide crude oil production rose nearly 10% and natural gas production was 17% above year-earlier levels.

However, domestic oil production declined 6%--a trend Beach said will continue as Unocal concentrates on natural gas projects worldwide and the possible sale of U.S. properties.

For the first nine months of 1994, Unocal earned $164 million, or 57 cents a share, compared to $169 million, or 59 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Nine-month revenue was $5.98 billion, down from $6.38 billion last year.

Unocal shares fell 37.5 cents to close at $29.25 in New York Stock Exchange trading.

* Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp. reported third-quarter net income of $123 million, or $1.70 a share, contrasted with a loss of $94 million, or $1.31 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Consolidated revenue was $4.6 billion, compared to $4.5 billion for 1993.

“Our health, pension and life insurance businesses continue to produce strong earnings and returns,” Cigna Chief Executive Wilson Taylor said in a statement.