Sears Profit Rises 20%, Beating Wall St. Estimates

Sears, Roebuck & Co.’s first-quarter profit rose 20.4%, but its stock fell Thursday on concerns about how much the retailer will have to pay customers in a debt collection foul-up.

Profit from operations rose to a better-than-expected $180 million, or 45 cents a share, from $151 million, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier. That beat the 43-cent average estimate of Wall Street analysts.

Sales, propelled by clothing, rose 9.4% to $7.56 billion, from $6.91 billion.

Meanwhile Thursday, Sears was named in a complaint by the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, which is seeking penalties and restitution for customers the retailer persuaded to pay credit card debts after they had filed for bankruptcy protection. Sears didn’t give any new information on its plan to reimburse the customers for as much as $400 million. It has said only that the move could reduce 1997 earnings by an undetermined amount.

Sears shares closed down $2 at $46.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.

On Wednesday, a bankruptcy judge in Massachusetts approved a motion for class-action status in a lawsuit against the retailer seeking unspecified damages.

At a Glance:

Continental Airlines Inc. posted record pretax profit and ended the first quarter with nearly $1 billion in cash on hand, fueling renewed calls for steep pay increases from the carrier’s pilots. Negotiators this week reported “fair progress” in talks with the pilots union.

Continental, which navigated its way out of bankruptcy in 1993, posted net profit of $74 million, or $1.13 a share, from $88 million, or $1.35 a share, in the year-ago period. Fully diluted earnings per share slid to 95 cents from $1.18, exceeding analysts’ estimates of 89 cents.

McDonald’s Corp.’s first-quarter net income rose 14% to $344.5 million, or 49 cents a share, in line with expectations, up from $301.6 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Edison International, parent of Southern California Edison, said its first-quarter net income fell 13% to $145 million, or 35 cents a share, from $167 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

McDonnell Douglas Corp. said first-quarter earnings declined nearly 9% to $181 million, or 86 cents a share, compared with $198 million, or 89 cents, a year ago.

Bell Atlantic Corp.’s first-quarter profit rose 11% to $515.6 million, or $1.17 a share, from $464.7 million, or $1.06, in the year-earlier period.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. reported first-quarter net income of $179 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with $134 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier.

Bank of Boston Corp. said first-quarter earnings rose 11% to a record $206.8 million, or $1.29 a share, from $186 million, or $1.13, before a year-ago charge.

Gillette Co. said its first-quarter earnings rose 14% to $283.7 million, or 51 cents a share, from $249.3 million, or 45 cents, a year ago.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. said first-quarter earnings rose 16% to $364.2 million, or 65 cents a share, from $314.8 million, or 56 cents, in the year-earlier period.

Amgen Inc. reported 27% higher first-quarter earnings of $180 million, or 65 cents per share, compared with $144 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.

Union Pacific Corp. said its first-quarter profit rose 76% to $137 million, or 56 cents a share, from $78 million, or 32 cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Viad Corp. reported first-quarter net income of $2.06 million, or 2 cents per share after charges, compared with $24.5 million, or 27 cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Bankers Trust New York Corp. said its first-quarter profit rose 22% to $169 million, or $1.89 a share, from $138

million, or $1.52 a share a year ago.

Alex. Brown Inc. said its first-quarter earnings fell 23% to $31.2 million, or $1.23 a share, from $40.7 million, or $1.67 in the year-ago quarter.

Dean Witter, Discover & Co. said first-quarter earnings rose 12% to $276.3 million, or 81 cents a share, from $245.8 million, or 71 cents, a year earlier.

Schlumberger Ltd. said first-quarter earnings rose 52% to $259.9 million, or $1.05 per share, from $170.9 million, or 70 cents, a year ago.

Marriott International’s first-quarter earnings rose 22% to $77 million, or 57 cents per share, compared with $63 million, or 47 cents, a year ago.

Office Depot Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $38.8 million, or 24 cents per share, including a $6.6-million charge for merger costs, compared with $33.5 million, or 21 cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Reebok International Ltd. said first-quarter earnings fell 17% to $40.2 million, or 69 cents a share, from $48.4 million, or 64 cents, a year earlier.

Capital One Financial Corp. said first-quarter earnings rose 12% to $42.5 million, or 63 cents a share, from $38 million, or 57 cents, a year ago.

Oakley Inc.’s reported first-quarter profit of $500,000, or 1 cent a share, from $11 million, or 15 cents, a year earlier.

Schering-Plough Corp. said first-quarter earnings rose 15% to $375.3 million, or $1.03 a share, from $326.6 million, or 89 cents, a year ago.

Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.’s first-quarter earnings fell 46% to $17.1 million, or 17 cents a share, from $31.4 million, or 30 cents, a year

Chart House Enterprises Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $674,000, or 8 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $630,000, or 8 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

UST Inc. said first-quarter earnings fell 5.2% to $101.2 million, or 55 cents a share, from $106.8 million, or 55 cents, a year ago.

Ashland Inc. said its first-quarter profit was $7 million, or 9 cents per share, up from a $2-million loss, or 11 cents a share, a year ago.