Dart Group

Trak Auto Corp. *Ticker.. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. Yesterday's Symbol.. .. .. .. ... .... .. .. .. Cls.. .. .. ..Chg.TRKA .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..12 5/8 . .. .. .. .- 7/8Period endedMay 1 .. .. .. .. 1st qtr.. .. .. .. ..Year ago.. .. .. .. ... .. Chg.Revenue .. .. .. $77,883 .. .. .. .. ..$77,836 .. .. .. .. .. ...0.0%Net Income .. .. .. .$92 .. .. .. .. ..$1,573**. .. .. .. .. .. -94.2%Primary EPS .. .. .$0.01.. .. .. .. .. $0.54*. .. .. .. .. .. ..-98.1%Figures in thousands (except per-share data.

The feud among members of the Haft family over the control of their holdings in the Dart Group could well be a plot for the kinds of books Robert M. Haft promotes in television and newspapers advertisements for Crown Books, one of Dart's companies.Mr. Haft, 40, founded the Crown Books chain in 1977 and made it the nation's third-largest bookseller after Waldenbooks and Barnes & Noble, with reported sales of about $241 million. He was expected soon to succeed his 72-year-old father, Herbert H. Haft, as chairman and chief executive of the Dart Group.

Circuit City Stores Inc.Reflecting the pickup in retail spending, this Richmond, Va.-based company reported improved third-quarter income on higher sales.During the quarter, Circuit City opened 26 new "superstores," many of them in the Southeast and Southwest.Still, "markets throughout the country remained highly competitive during the quarter," said Richard L. Sharp, Circuit City's president and chief executive.Three months ended 11/30......Revenue... .... .... Net.... .... .... Share'92 ..805,426,000.

Dart Group Corp., the retail and financial company controlled by the Haft family of Washington, reported that its earnings for the second quarter plunged 72.5 percent from the same period a year ago.The plunge was not attributable to problems in the two companies Dart controls, Crown Books and Trak Auto. Trak Auto posted a healthy earnings gain, while the decline at Crown was too small to have had such a dramatic effect on Dart's earnings.Besides its 53 percent share of Crown Books and 68 percent share of Trak Auto, Dart owns 50 percent of Shoppers Food Warehouse, a fast-growing grocery chain in the Washington area, and 100 percent of Dart Group Financial and Cabot-Morgan Real Estate Co. Dart, Crown and Trak Auto are all based in Landover.

Near the end of 1991, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was about 3,100. Currently, this most watched of all stock market indicators is near 3,400. The gain in less than five months is almost 10 percent for this average, which reflects the share price changes of 30 large U.S. corporations.Much broader-based Standard & Poor's averages have moved little in those five months; in fact, the most popular, S&P's 500, is actually down between 1 percent and 2 percent.In general, stock prices haven't moved ahead this year.

Dart Group Corp. has reported that its net income per share for the quarter that ended Jan. 31 dropped by nearly 97 percent.The principal cause of the decline was a sharp drop in the earnings of Landover-based Trak Auto Corp. Trak, which operates a nationwide chain of stores selling discount automobile parts and accessories, reported a $4.2 million loss in the quarter.Dart owns 69 percent of Trak, a 54 percent stake in Crown Books and a majority share of Shoppers Food Warehouse.Three months ended 1/31/91.

Landover-based Dart Group Corp. announced yesterday that sales increased 18.8 percent and 17.3 percent, respectively, for the three-month and nine-month periods that ended Oct. 31.Three-month sales increased to $261,475,000 from $220,075,000, and nine-month sales rose to $747 million from $636,829,000.The increase in Dart's sales resulted primarily from the increase in the number of stores operated by Shoppers Food Warehouse, Crown Books and Trak Auto, all subsidiaries of Dart Group.In addition, sales were up 7.5 percent and 7.1 percent during the three- and nine-month periods for stores open more than one year.

John Hanson Savings Bank FSBThis Beltsville-based thrift blamed continued problems in its real estate loan portfolio and a weakened overall economy for a fourth-quarter loss of nearly $8.2 million, or $1.42 a share, as it added more than $5 million to its reserves for possible losses related to those loans. That marked a slight improvement over its year-ago loss of $9 million, or $1.56 a share.However, John Hanson said that two of the three capital levels at the thrift remained below those set by federal regulators.