Strong Performances by NBC, Plastics Units Boost GE Profit

General Electric reported Thursday that its first-quarter earnings rose 11%, fueled for a fifth straight quarter by strong profit increases at its NBC-TV and plastics units.

Net income for the industrial and financial services company rose to $1.52 billion, or 91 cents a share, from $1.37 billion, or 81 cents, a year ago. Wall Street had expected earnings of 90 cents.

NBC’s profit surged 40% to 45%, analysts said, double the 20% increase industry analysts had expected, as the nation’s No. 1 network cashed in on advertising revenue from Super Bowl XXX in January and six of the top top-rated 10 shows, including “Seinfeld,” “ER” and “Friends.” The overseas expansion of CNBC was also a factor.

Profits increased at eight of GE’s dozen businesses; declined in the appliances, information services and lighting divisions; and were unchanged at the electrical distribution and control unit.

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McDonnell Douglas reported its first-quarter earnings rose 25% on improved results in its military aircraft business.

For the quarter ended March 31, net income was $198 million, or $1.78 a share, compared with $159 million, or $1.38 a share, for the same period a year ago.

The St. Louis-based company said significantly lower sales in its commercial jet business were largely offset by increases in its other businesses.

Operating earnings in the company’s military aircraft business rose 19% for the first quarter, led by improvement in the F/A-18 and C-17 programs.

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Microsoft said its fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 42% as sales of its Windows software advanced profit for another quarter.

But shares in the Redmond, Wash.-based software company fell after the close of trading on Nasdaq, however, because the results failed to meet analysts’ most optimistic forecasts. Investors have come to expect Microsoft to easily beat analysts’ highest projections quarter after quarter.

Net income for the period ended March 31 rose to $562 million, or 88 cents a share, from $396 million, or 63 cents, a year ago. Wall Street had expected earnings of 85 cents a share, according to an average estimate of 22 analysts. The highest forecast was 90 cents.

The stock, which had risen $3.0625 to $109 on Nasdaq, sank as low as $107 after the announcement.

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Thousand Oaks-based Amgen said its first-quarter earnings rose 32%, driven by stronger sales of Epogen and Neupogen, its drugs for spurring blood cell growth.

Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, posted net income of $143.6 million, or 51 cents a share, up from $108.6 million, or 39 cents, for the year-earlier quarter.

The company had been expected to make 51 cents a share.

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At a Glance:

Pacific Telesis Group said first-quarter earnings rose 5.7%, to $298 million, or 70 cents a share, from $282 million, or 67 cents, a year earlier. . . . Great Western Financial reported first-quarter earnings of $71.3 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with $42.5 million, or 28 cents a share, for the same period last year. . . . Edison International said first-quarter earnings were $167 million, or 38 cents a share, compared with $154 million, or 34 cents a share, for the period last year. . . . Gillette posted a 17% increase in first-quarter profit to $229.9 million, or 51 cents a share, from $196.1 million, or 44 cents, in the year-ago period. The consumer products company also boosted its dividend 20% and said it would buy back 10 million to 15 million shares. . . . Sears, Roebuck said its first-quarter earnings rose 21.8% to $151 million, or 36 cents a share, from $124 million, or 30 cents a share, in the same 1995 period.

McDonald’s posted a 7% first-quarter increase--one of its smallest--of $301.6 million, or 42 cents a share, from $280.7 million, or 39 cents a share, for the year-ago period. . . . Warner-Lambert posted first-quarter profit of $213 million, or $1.57 a share, compared with $201.4 million, or $1.50, a year earlier.. . . Schering-Plough posted net income of $326.6 million, or 89 cents a share, up from $284.9 million, or 77 cents, a year earlier. . . . Bally Entertainment said first-quarter profit was $9.14 million, or 10 cents a share, up from profit from operations of $4.17 million, or 7 cents, in the year-ago quarter. . . . Hasbro said its first-quarter earnings rose 12% to $24.4 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with $21.7 million, or 25 cents a share, during the same period in 1995.

Northwest Airlines said its first-quarter income rose to $53.4 million, or 41 cents a share, from $2.6 million, or 52 cents a share, but that that was due to much higher interest payments and currency-exchange losses in 1995’s first quarter. . . . Union Pacific posted first-quarter profit of $156 million, or 76 cents per share, compared with $191 million, or 93 cents a share, in the same period last year. . . . CSX earned $146 million, or 69 cents per share, compared with $121 million, or 58 cents a share, in the 1995 period. . . . American Express said first-quarter earnings rose 12% to a record $396 million, or 80 cents a share, from $353 million, or 70 cents, a year ago.

Ryder System said its first-quarter profit fell below expectations as a result of a strike at General Motors, to $10.2 million, or 13 cents a share, down 62% from $26.6 million, or 34 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. . . . Tandy reported a 63% drop in profit in the first quarter to $14.5 million, or 21 cents a share, down from $38.9 million, or 55 cents a share, a year ago. . . . Kimberly-Clark said first-quarter profit rose 57% as the company benefited from its merger with Scott Paper, earning $314.8 million, or $1.11 per share, for the first three months of the year, compared with $199.6 million, or 71 cents per share, for the year-ago period.