Chrysler Posts $680-Million Quarterly Profit
Chrysler keeps reaping the profit of being the most efficient of the Big Three auto makers, Monday reporting record third-quarter earnings.
The No. 3 auto maker said net earnings totaled $680 million, or 93 cents a share, up from $354 million, or 45 cents, in the third quarter of 1995.
Wall Street analysts had forecast a more modest improvement.
“Overall, it is a picture of a company that’s just doing everything well,” said Maryann Keller of Furman Selz Inc. in New York.
The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based auto maker reported other positive third-quarter statistics, including:
* Sales up 20%, to $14.4 billion from $12 billion a year ago.
* Earnings of $982 per vehicle, almost double the $492 per vehicle made in the year-ago quarter.
* Incentive costs down to $685 a vehicle, compared with $870 a year ago.
* U.S. market share at 15.2%, up from 13.2% a year ago.
No. 1 General Motors plans to report earnings today, Ford on Wednesday.
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TRW said it will cut 2,300 jobs and close several plants in an effort to meet auto makers’ demands for lower prices on air bags.
The automotive and aerospace company said it took a charge of $233.4 million, or $3.58 a share, against third-quarter earnings to account for the moves.
Before the charge, Cleveland-based TRW had profit from continuing operations of $86.2 million, or $1.32 a share, up 10% from $78.2 million, or $1.17, a year ago.
TRW wouldn’t say how many plants or which ones it will close. The company employed 66,000 people at the end of last year.
It said the third-quarter charge covers “reconfiguration of manufacturing plants,” particularly in its automobile parts business, severance payments, asset write-downs, reserves for worker benefits and other charges.
At a Glance:
Hughes Electronics said its third-quarter profit fell 1.6% on increased marketing expenses for the company’s satellite television service and a slightly higher tax rate. Earnings at the Los Angeles-based division of General Motors fell to $252 million, or 63 cents a share, from $256.1 million, or 64 cents, in the 1995 quarter. The company attributed the decline to increased costs related to promoting its DirecTV satellite-based television service and an increase in its tax rate.
Office Depot said third-quarter profit fell 14% to $31.9 million, or 20 cents a share, from $36.8 million, or 24 cents. The Delray Beach, Fla.-based company had warned last month that its per-share earnings would be 20 or 21 cents a share.
Travelers Group of insurance companies said profit rose 22% in the third quarter to $591.8 million, or $1.18 per share, up from $481.4 million, or 96 cents, in the year-ago quarter.
Pfizer said its third-quarter earnings jumped 23% to $514 million, or 80 cents a share, from profit from continuing operations of $419 million, or 66 cents, in the year-earlier period.
Norwest reported record third-quarter earnings of $289.0 million, or 76 cents per share, up from $245.2 million, or 80 cents, during the same period last year.
First Union reported a 6% decline in net income because of a one-time charge of $86 million, or 31 cents a share. As a result, the banking company posted net income of $356 million, or $1.29, compared with $376 million, or $1.36, in the year-ago quarter.
Boise Cascade reported a third-quarter loss of $1.7 million, or 24 cents a share, contrasted with a profit of $118.5 million, or $2.03 a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper group, said its earnings more than quadrupled in the third quarter to $414.7 million, or $2.94 a share, compared with $96.1 million, or 69 cents, in the comparable quarter last year.
