Net Loss

MURRAY HILL, N.J. - Lucent Technologies Inc., the biggest U.S. maker of telephone equipment, posted its 10th-straight quarterly net loss yesterday as sales fell by more than half. The company said revenue might slip further this period. Lucent's loss in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30, narrowed to $2.84 billion, or 84 cents a share, from $8.8 billion, or $2.59, a year earlier, when it had steeper job-cut expenses and asset write-downs. Sales slid 56 percent to $2.28 billion from $5.16 billion.

Two Anne Arundel senators say they want to strengthen a Schaefer administration plan to preserve Maryland's forests.Sen. Gerald W. Winegrad, D-Annapolis, and Senate Minority Leader John A. Cade, R-Severna Park, have lobbied Gov. William Donald Schaefer to require builders to replace the trees they cut down. The lawmakers want new trees planted either on construction sites or at other state-approved sites."We want to attain a policy of no net loss of trees," Cade said. "That bill (the governor's)

Westinghouse Electric Corp. yesterday reported a net loss of $52 million in the third quarter, a span during which operating profits fell 66 percent.Also yesterday, the company's local division, Electronic Systems, began notifying 510 workers at its Linthicum and Hunt Valley facilities that they will lose their jobs by the end of the year. The layoffs were previously announced, but individual workers were not notified at the time.Jack Martin, a spokesman for the local division, said that the majority of the 510 layoffs will be at the company's Linthicum complex.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc., a Baltimore-based television and radio broadcasting company, yesterday announced a net loss of $4.6 million for the last quarter of 1997.The company attributed the quarterly loss to the costs of acquiring new stations and redeeming $98.1 million worth of notes.In the corresponding quarter of 1996, Sinclair had net income of $2.9 million.The company had a yearly net loss of $10.6 million in 1997, compared with net income of $1.1 million in 1996.It posted a 19-cent-per-share net loss in the quarter.

Columbia-based North American Vaccine Inc. reported yesterday that its fourth-quarter net loss almost doubled to $23.4 million, or 73 cents per share, on revenue of $3.3 million.In comparison, the company had a net loss of $13.1 million, or 41 cents per share, on revenue of $612,000 for the same period in 1997.The company said that its fourth-quarter loss included a $12 million interest charge. Without the charge, the loss would have been $11.5 million, or 36 cents per share, North American said.

USinternetworking Inc., the Annapolis company that leases business management software over the Internet, lowered financial forecasts for the year yesterday and said its losses for the second quarter widened even as revenue increased. The company reported a net loss of $51.5 million, or 37 cents per share, for the quarter, including a charge of $7.8 million for the cost of layoffs and closing some facilities during the first and second quarters. Revenue in the quarter, which ended June 30, was $32.2 million.

Crown Central Petroleum Corp. reported yesterday that it posted a net loss of $67.4 million in the final quarter of 1995 that included an $80.5 million pretax write-off.Earnings from continuing operations improved, but not enough to pull the company out of the red. The Baltimore-based oil refiner and marketer reported a fourth-quarter operating loss of $4.6 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with a loss of $4.9 million, or 51 cents a share, in the same period last year.The net loss in the quarter included a write off for plant equipment at its Pasadena, Texas, refinery and an accounting change.

Magna Entertainment Corp., the Canadian company that owns Maryland's thoroughbred racetracks and the Preakness, announced yesterday that it had reached an agreement to sell its ownership interest in The Meadows, a harness track near Pittsburgh. The sale, to a company that operates casinos in Las Vegas and a California-based investment firm, is expected to gross $225 million for Magna Entertainment, which will continue to manage racing operations. "It was not an easy decision to sell The Meadows but one we concluded was the right decision in terms of maximizing return to our shareholders," said Tom Hodgson, president and chief executive officer of Magna Entertainment.

Corporate Office Properties Trust, an owner and developer of office complexes for government agencies and contractors, said Thursday its second-quarter funds from operations rose 6 percent because of gains on investments and properties the company acquired or opened last year. The Columbia-based real estate investment trust said funds from operations rose to 57 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with 54 cents per share for the second quarter of 2010, excluding a non-cash impairment charge for acquisition costs.

After absorbing $77.6 million in losses during fiscal 1995, Landover-based Hechinger Co. reported yesterday another quarter in the red -- a net loss of $6 million, or 14 cents per share, for the first quarter of 1996. Over the same quarter last year, Hechinger earned $1.2 million, or 3 cents a share.If not for a cold March, the retailer said it would have been marginally profitable for the quarter, which ended May 4."For us, weather is a key driver," said Hechinger Executive Vice President W. Clark McClelland.