Rockwell Quarterly Profit Slips 10%

Citing a poor performance in its semiconductor division and a special charge for an acquisition, Rockwell International Corp. said Tuesday that its profit from ongoing operations dropped 10% in the third fiscal quarter.

The company posted a profit of $131 million, or 62 cents a share, compared with $146 million, or 67 cents a share, for the same period last year.

Rockwell said it had a one-time charge of $19 million in April against the cost of research and development when it purchased a San Diego broad-band firm that builds computer chips designed for video and data services.

Excluding this special charge, Rockwell’s third-quarter profit was up 6% to $150 million, or 71 cents a share. Revenue was $1.92 million, up slightly from $1.89 million.

The company’s Newport Beach-based semiconductor unit suffered from poor sales in its 56k modems, its latest telephone device to link home computers with the Internet. Rockwell said some computer users have been reluctant to invest in the new hardware because of fluctuating technological standards for the modems.

For the first nine months ended June 30, Rockwell earned $440 million, or $2.04 a share, up 10.5% from $398 million, or $1.83 a share, a year ago, it said. Excluding the one-time charge, the company’s profit totaled $459 million, or $2.13 a share.

Rockwell, which has divested itself of its defense, aerospace and commercial graphics units this year, will spin off its automotive unit into a separate, publicly traded company by Oct. 1.

For 1997’s third quarter, automotive income was $36 million, a 38% increase from last year’s $26 million. The company attributed the jump to increased volume and a restructuring charge it paid in the third quarter last year.

On Tuesday, Rockwell’s stock rose $2.31 to $64.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.