GM Profit Up 18% to Record $2.27 Billion : Earnings: Apple’s net tumbles by 25%. AT&T;, Compaq and Northrop all post gains.

General Motors Corp. said Thursday its profits jumped 18% to a record $2.27 billion in the second quarter, fueled by gains in its core North American automotive operations.

GM was the only one of Detroit’s Big Three auto makers to post an earnings increase in the quarter.

The increase from a $1.92-billion profit a year ago came despite a decline in North American vehicle deliveries as the auto giant continued to make progress in cutting its costs.

GM’s earnings per share rose to $2.39 from $2.23 in the year-ago period, while revenue rose 9% to $44.1 billion from $40.4 billion.

Investors applauded the results, boosting GM shares $1 to $49.625 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Earnings for GM’s North American operations jumped 37% to $880 million from $641 million in the second quarter of 1994.

GM delivered 1.5 million vehicles in North America during the third quarter, about 36,000 fewer than a year earlier. And GM’s share of the domestic auto market continued to shrink, slipping to 32% from 33.1% last year.

But GM benefited from lower procurement costs, a $50-per-vehicle reduction in overtime costs and gains in manufacturing productivity.

“All of GM’s major business sectors showed year-over-year improvements, with the bulk of the overall gain accounted for by our North American automotive operations despite lower volume,” Chief Executive John Smith said in a statement.

GM’s non-automotive subsidiaries reported combined second quarter earnings of $774 million, a 14% rise from a year earlier. The units are Hughes Electronics Corp., the General Motors Acceptance Corp. financing arm and Electronic Data Systems Corp.

Apple Computer Inc. reported a 25% drop in third-quarter profits compared to a year ago, when the company had a big gain from restructuring charge adjustments.

Factoring out the adjustments, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s earnings were up 67%. Revenue, meanwhile, rose 20%, sparked by increasing demand for Apple’s Power Macintosh computers.

Lower-than-expected costs from a restructuring program added $127 million to Apple’s 1994 third-quarter earnings. An additional adjustment of the expenses added $6.1 million to the bottom line in the just-ended quarter.

AT&T; Corp.’s second-quarter profit climbed to $1.355 billion as stronger performance in its core long-distance telephone business offset persistent losses in its computer business.

The 12% jump on comparable operations from a year ago was in line with the company’s own target and the expectations of Wall Street. Revenue was up 7% from 1994.

Compaq Computer Corp. posted $246 million in second-quarter earnings, a 17% jump from a year ago, as stronger sales reflected a successful transition in its office product line. Compaq’s inventory, which some analysts had feared would rise due to leftover products that had become hard to sell, held steady in the quarter.

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. reported that its second-quarter profit rose 22%, boosted by strong results from its aircraft and electronics businesses. Revenue was up 4%. The Los Angles company, which makes the B-2 Stealth bomber, said sales increases in its aircraft and electronics businesses offset lower sales of the B-2 and the company’s unmanned vehicle systems.

Exxon Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. reported sharply higher second-quarter profits, crediting a stronger market for chemicals and a $2-a-barrel surge in the price of crude oil.

Exxon, the country’s biggest oil company, reported an 84% profit increase. The stronger economy has increased demand for petrochemicals and higher prices have meant healthier profits for a business that had been a drain on oil company profits during the recession. Exxon’s chemical business tripled in the quarter.

The Irving, Tex.-based company’s oil exploration and production earnings rose 36%, while its chemicals business earnings shot up to $571 million from $190 million a year ago.

Occidental had a profit of $187 million for the second quarter of 1995, compared with a net loss of $19 million in the year-ago period.

Pacific Telesis Group reported a 7% drop in second-quarter profit because of competitive and regulatory pressures.

The company earned $260 million during the three months ended June 30, down from $278 million during the same period last year. Last year’s second-quarter performance was reduced by a one-time $29-million charge from a regulatory order concerning payment processing. Revenue was down 1.1%.

Sears, Roebuck & Co.’s profit rose 11.1% in the second quarter on a 5% increase in revenue, as it continued to boost sales and reduce costs at its stores, the retailer said.

The Chicago-based company reported a 4.7% gain in merchandise sales and services and a 7.1% increase in credit revenues. The cost of operating its domestic stores fell to 22.5% of sales from 23.6%.