2nd-Quarter Bank Profits Slightly Exceed Forecasts

NationsBank Corp. and other big banks on Monday reported higher second-quarter earnings that for the most part came in a shade above expectations on Wall Street.

Charlotte, N.C.-based NationsBank, the nation’s fourth-largest bank, said earnings jumped 26%, First Chicago NBD Corp. said its profit rose 5% and Bank of New York Co. reported a 9% increase, excluding one-time gains. National City Corp., based in Cleveland, also said its earnings rose, by 8%.

Also reporting was Norwest Corp., which said second-quarter earnings rose 16.1% to $331.4 million, or 86 cents per share, up from $285.4 million, or 76 cents, a year ago. The Minneapolis bank attributed the rise to higher lending income and fees from checking accounts and other services.

NationsBank said the results reflected a jump in interest income, expense controls and the acquisition of Boatmen’s Bancshares Inc. in January, as well as other acquisitions last year.

Net income rose to $762 million, or $1.05 a share, in the quarter, from $605 million, or $1 a share, a year earlier, it said. The results were a penny or two above analysts’ forecasts.

First Chicago NBD, the 10th-largest bank, said net income grew to $378 million, or $1.20 a share, in the quarter ended on June 30, from $361 million, or $1.10 a share, a year earlier. The results matched forecasts of $1.20 a share, according to First Call, which tracks analysts’ estimates.

The company, based in Chicago, cited lower credit losses and higher interest income for the increase.

Bank of New York, the No. 17 bank as measured by assets, said earnings rose to $269 million, or 67 cents a share, in the quarter, from $248 million, or 59 cents a share, in the 1996 quarter. The year-ago results exclude a $31-million gain on the sale of a credit-card portfolio.

Including the gain, net income fell 3%. Analysts had forecast earnings of 66 cents a share.

National City, No. 20 of U.S. banks, said net income increased to $198.3 million, or 90 cents a share, for the quarter, from $182.8 million, or 82 cents a share, a year earlier. The results came in a penny above average forecasts.

At a Glance:

TRW Inc. said its second-quarter earnings rose 15%, led by strong sales and profit at its space and defense unit. The maker of auto parts and space and defense equipment said its net income from continuing operations rose to $134.4 million, or $1.06 a share, from $116.9 million, or 88 cents, in the year-ago quarter. The Cleveland-based company was expected to earn $1.02 a share.

Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc. said second-quarter earnings rose 3.3% to a record $100.2 million, or $1.54 a share, from $97 million, or $1.53, a year earlier.

Gannett Co. said second-quarter earnings rose to $194.7 million, or $1.38 a share, from $150.0 million, or $1.07 a share, in the same period the year before.

E.W. Scripps Co., publisher of the Cincinnati Post, said second-quarter net income fell to $38.6 million, or 48 cents per share, from $41.9 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The year-ago figure includes a $2.6-million charge for the restructuring of its joint newspaper publishing operation in Cincinnati.

Goleta, Calif.-based Applied Magnetics Corp. reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $21.0 million, or 75 cents per share, compared with $2.3 million, or 10 cents, a year ago.

Avant Corp. of Fremont reported second-quarter net income of $7.6 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with $5.4 million, or 20 cents, in the year-ago period.

Beverly Hills-based Earl Scheib Inc. reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $839,000, or 18 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $706,000, or 15 cents, in the year-earlier quarter.