Unocal Cuts 475 Jobs as 4th-Qtr. Profit Falls 79%

Unocal Corp. said Wednesday that it cut 475 jobs, or 6% of its work force, in the fourth quarter as earnings fell 79% because of lower prices for oil and natural gas.

Profit before charges and gains for the El Segundo-based oil company was $28 million, or 11 cents a share, down from $134 million, or 54 cents, in the fourth quarter of 1997. Unocal beat the 6-cent average estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp. Forecasts ranged from a loss of 4 cents a share to a profit of 10 cents.

Unocal shares fell 88 cents to close at $28.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Unocal and its rivals were hurt by lower prices for crude oil that averaged $12.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 35% from the year-earlier period.

The company eliminated jobs; reduced by 41% its 1999 capital budget, most of which goes toward oil and natural gas exploration; and plans to cut costs by as much as $200 million this year to increase cash flow. Revenue fell 5%, to $1.48 billion from $1.56 billion.

The company had not previously announced the job cuts, which a spokesman said were not concentrated in any particular division but include its mining unit in Mountain Pass, Calif., and workers in New Mexico.

Also reporting Wednesday was Mobil Corp., which is in the midst of a merger with No. 1 Exxon Corp. It reported a loss of $152 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with net income of $704 million, or 86 cents, a year ago. Revenue tumbled 20%, to $13.22 billion from $16.57 billion.

Mobil shares fell 88 cents to close at $87.69 on the NYSE.

At a Glance

Other earnings, excluding one-time gains and charges unless noted:

* San Diego-based Sempra Energy, the largest U.S. natural gas utility company, said fourth-quarter profit fell 29%, still beating estimates, after California regulators ordered price cuts. Profit before charges fell to $89 million, or 37 cents a share, from $125 million, or 53 cents, a year earlier. Sempra beat the 42-cent average estimate of analysts. Revenue was little changed at $1.44 billion.

* Carlsbad-based Callaway Golf Co. reported a fourth-quarter loss for the period ended Dec. 31 of $64.7 million, or 93 cents per share, compared with net income of $24.4 million, or 34 cents, a year ago. Sales were $114.5 million, down from $163.4 million a year ago.

* Imperial Bancorp, the Los Angeles-based parent of Imperial Bank, reported fourth-quarter net income of $16.9 million, or 43 cents a share, compared with $21.4 million, or 53 cents, a year ago. The company said the decline was due largely to lower earnings reported by its Imperial Credit Industries unit. A chart in Wednesday’s Business section misstated earnings per share for the 1998 period.

* Menlo Park-based Informix Corp., the No. 5 maker of database software, reported fourth-quarter profit, including charges, of $22.9 million, or 13 cents a share, beating estimates, compared with $7.29 million, or 5 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 18%, to $214.6 million from $181.3 million.

* Rancho Cucamonga-based Pacer Technology, maker of Super Glue and other products, reported a 53% increase in fiscal second-quarter net income of $420,886, or 3 cents a share, compared with $275,646, or 2 cents, a year ago. Sales rose 89%, to $11.8 million from $6.3 million a year ago.

* MORE EARNINGS: C3

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

California Earnings

A sampling of California-based companies reporting quarterly earnings Wednesday and expected to report today, ranked by year-over-year earnings-per-share (EPS) growth, compiled by First Call:

California Companies Reporting Wednesday

*--*

Analysts’ Pct. above/ 1997 Ticker estimated Actual below 4th-qtr. Company symbol EPS EPS estimate EPS Westfield Amer. Trust WEA $0.42 $0.43 +2% $0.40 Pimco Advisors PA 0.40 0.40 0 0.40 Allergan AGN 0.61 0.62 +2 0.69 Walt Disney DIS 0.24 0.23 -4 0.37 PairGain Technologies PAIR 0.08 0.07 -13 0.17 MTI Technology MTIC 0.04 0.05 +25 0.17 Unocal UCL 0.06 0.11 +83 0.54

Year- over-year Company % change Westfield Amer. Trust +8% Pimco Advisors 0 Allergan -10 Walt Disney -38 PairGain Technologies -59 MTI Technology -71 Unocal -80

*--*

Reporting Today

*--*

Ticker Consensus Year-ago Predicted Company symbol EPS estimate quarter pct. chg. Unova UNA $0.37 $0.14 +164% Amgen AMGN 0.84 0.67 +25 Bergen Brunswig BBC 0.26 0.21 +24 Arden Realty ARI 0.63 0.55 +15 Safeway SWY 0.48 0.43 +12 PeopleSoft PSFT 0.17 0.16 +6 Alza AZA 0.30 0.32 -6 Emulex EMLX 0.14 0.15 -7 St. John Knits SJK 0.35 0.54 -35 Smart & Final SMF 0.00 -0.31 NM Lam Research LRCX -0.94 0.09 NM Wynn’s Intl. WN 0.36 NA NA GeoCities GCTY -0.34 NA NA

*--*

Notes: NM = not meaningful. A loss in any period makes percentage change not calculable.

NA = not available

Year-over-year growth and percentage changes are based on earnings-per-share

figures and may differ from percentage changes based on total profit.

For more information via the Internet, check https://www.firstcall.com.