Hughes Electronics Profit Up 15%

General Motors Corp.’s Hughes Electronics unit said fourth-quarter earnings rose 15% on increased revenue from its DirecTv satellite broadcasting service.

The Los Angeles-based satellite, automotive and defense electronics company said profit from operations rose to $294.4 million, or 74 cents a share, from $255.6 million, 64 cents, a year ago.

The per-share result was better than the average estimate of 73 cents based on a survey of analysts.

Hughes Electronics reports separate net income, which is used to calculate earnings per share of GM’s Class H stock.

After charges in both quarters related to accounting adjustments from GM’s 1985 purchase of Hughes Aircraft, Hughes Electronics said net income rose to $263.9 million, or 66 cents a share, from $224.7 million, 56 cents, a year ago.

In 1995, Hughes Electronics’ profit from operations rose to $1.11 billion, or $2.77 a share, from $1.05 billion, $2.62, a year ago.

Including charges related to the Hughes acquisition, net income rose 2% to $948.3 million, or $2.38 a share, from $925.4 million, or $2.32, in 1994.

Fourth-quarter earnings rose mostly on improvement in Hughes’ telecommunications and space division, which includes the DirecTv satellite broadcast system, satellite construction and cellular communications operations.

Profit rose to $46.1 million from $100,000 a year earlier, mostly because more customers signed up for DirecTv and the company brought in more revenue from satellite construction.

DirecTv began beaming hundreds of television channels to customers equipped with its 18-inch-wide satellite dish in June 1994. Today the company has 1 million customers.