Operating Profits

The Rouse Co. turned in a surprisingly strong first-quarter earnings report yesterday, saying operating profits from its existing retail centers and office buildings rose, thanks largely to a 29 percent boost in profits from shopping centers."

W.R. Grace & Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection in April to shield itself from asbestos-related claims, reported yesterday that third-quarter operating profit inched upward 1.5 percent, driven by higher sales of chemicals. The Columbia maker of chemicals used in oil refining and construction said income from core operations totaled $53.8 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with $53 million in the corresponding period a year earlier. Sales rose 7.8 percent in the quarter to $448.

TOKYO -- Most of Japan's largest commercial banks yesterday reported their first net losses in five decades aswrite-offs of trillions of yen in bad loans wiped out record operating profits.The banks projected that aggregate profits through normal operations will plunge 34 percent this year to 2.305 trillion yen ($21.35 billion) as interest rates rise. That will jeopardize their efforts to rid themselves of the bad loans still spoiling their balance sheets."Last fiscal year was absolutely heaven for the banks," said Walter Altherr of Jardine Fleming Securities Ltd."

It pays to live close to the federal till. The United States government spent $45 billion in Maryland in fiscal 2000, more than it spent in all but nine other states, according to a new Census Bureau report. That works out to more than $8,500 for every man, woman and child in the state, far above the national average of $5,740 per person and higher than all but two other states -- Alaska and Virginia, the bureau said. "What you're finding there is what's been true historically," said Mark Goldstein, an economist with the Maryland Department of Planning.

General Motors Corp. surprised analysts yesterday by reporting better-than-expected second-quarter operating profits.GM posted record operating profits of $2.65 a share, up 8.4 percent over the same quarter of 1995. The profits were based on improved earnings from its financing arm, a lower tax rate than expected, and an increase in vehicle production to offset the losses caused by a 17-day strike in April.Most analysts were expecting the world's largest automaker to report operating results in the range of $2.48 to $2.51 a share.

Westinghouse Electric Corp. reported yesterday a drop in income during the second quarter and a lackluster performance at its big defense complex in Linthicum.The company said it earned $122 million, or 35 cents a share, in the quarter, nearly 15 percent less than a year ago. Revenues fell to $3.15 billion from $3.17 billion.Operating profits for Westinghouse's Electronic Systems Group, which has most of its operations next to Baltimore-Washington International Airport, posted a decline, and revenues were flat, said Ronald E. Hart, a company spokesman.

The parent companies of Bloomingdale's, which has a store in White Flint Mall in Kensington, Md., and several other well-known department stores unveiled a sweeping plan yesterday, saying they will jettison the protection of the Bankruptcy Court next year."

Westinghouse Electric Corp. yesterday reported that first-quarter operating income fell slightly, partly because of a sharp drop in defense contracts at its Electronic Systems Group in Linthicum.Westinghouse, based in Pittsburgh, posted a profit of $64 million, or 15 cents a share, from continuing operations for the period, down from $65 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Net income was $64 million, compared with a loss of $246 million in the first quarter last year, when the rTC company took a $338 million, or 99-cents-a-share, after-tax charge from the adoption of new accounting standards.

With Westinghouse Electric Corp. reporting that earnings fell 50 percent during the second quarter, Chairman Paul Lego said that there are more tough times ahead for the company. "Our expectations of an early and strong economic recovery have not materialized," Mr. Lego said in releasing Westinghouse's financial results Friday."That, coupled with the fact that many of our businesses customarily lag the economy, will adversely impact our second half" of the year, he said.The 50 percent earnings decline for the second quarter was blamed in part on the flat performance of Westinghouse's big Electronic Systems Group, which is based in Linthicum.

Times Mirror Co., whose top executives were in Baltimore yesterday for a talk with security analysts, had good news to report for all of its business segments except its largest one -- newspaper publishing.The publisher of the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and New York Newsday, the Hartford Courant and the Baltimore Sun and Evening Sun, last month reported net income of $43.8 million, or 34 cents a share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, a 7 percent increase over earnings of $41.0 million, or 32 cents a share, in the 1991 third quarter.

Moving to free up funds to help trim debt, Lockheed Martin Corp. slashed its quarterly dividend in half yesterday, to 11 cents. The Bethesda-based defense contractor also reported fourth-quarter profit from operations of $227 million, or 59 cents a share, down 20 percent from $285 million, or 75 cents in the fourth quarter of 1998. Those events occurred one day after Lockheed Martin said it would lay off 2,800 workers and streamline its aircraft and space systems businesses as part of an effort to restore investor confidence and reduce its approximately $12 billion of debt.

Black & Decker Corp., the world's largest maker of power tools, reported third-quarter profits yesterday that beat estimates, as cost-cutting and new product introductions offset a big dip in sales.The Towson company said it earned $66.6 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, a 14 percent increase from the $58.4 million it earned for the same three months in 1997. Net earnings per share rose 20 percent, to 72 cents, this year, from 60 cents for the same period a year ago.Operating profits -- the figure analysts keyed upon because some one-time gains and charges muddied the bottom-line numbers -- were 70 cents per share.

The Rouse Co. generated only slightly improved earnings of $46.4 million in the second quarter, despite solid gains from its shopping malls and office projects.The Columbia real estate company's 2.2 percent increase in its funds from operations -- a standard measure of financial health used by real estate investment trusts -- comes after four consecutive quarters in which Rouse improved on its previous earnings by 30 percent or more.Rouse officials attributed the earnings of 62 cents per share to a decrease in land sales in Columbia compared with sales in the second quarter of 1997, but it said the results were "on target."

Black & Decker Corp. said yesterday that an overhaul of the company announced in January resulted in a first-quarter loss of $971.4 million.The Towson-based company, which plans to sell most of its household product business and cut an additional 3,000 jobs worldwide, said it had charges of about $1 billion.Those included the write-off of good will -- or excess over book value paid for acquisitions -- of about $900 million. The charge mainly involves Black & Decker's Emhart Corp. unit, which the company bought in 1989 for $3.5 billion in cash and assumed debt.

MCI Communications Corp. said yesterday its third-quarter profits rose 10 percent, after factoring out a one-time charge last year, in a performance that matched analysts' expectations and in some ways outperformed rivals AT&T Corp. and Sprint Corp.MCI said it earned $304 million, or 44 cents a share, during the three months that ended in September, bringing 1996's nine-month total to $899 million, or $1.29 a share. Last year, the Washington-based long-distance carrier, a major employer in Maryland, posted a loss during the third quarter because of a one-time $520 million charge.

PITTSBURGH -- Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s second-quarter operating profit fell 6.9 percent as weaker results at its power-systems businesses offset gains in broadcasting, and a charge for environmental costs resulted in a bottom-line loss.The largest U.S. broadcasting company also said yesterday that it expects third-quarter earnings to drop from the second quarter because advertising revenue and ratings at its CBS television network declined during NBC's Olympics coverage.Profit from operations fell to $27 million, or 6 cents a share, from $29 million, or 4 cents, in the year-earlier quarter.

Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Corp. lost $246 million in the first quarter, mainly because of a charge for employee retirement benefits.Westinghouse said its loss amounted to 72 cents a share in the three months that ended March 31, in contrast to a profit of $98 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier.Chairman Paul E. Lego said the results were in line with the company's expectations."While some of our businesses are recording slight improvements in order rates, most of our businesses are late cycle and have yet to experience increased order activity," he said.

Westinghouse Electric Corp. reported a 28 percent drop in its third-quarter operating profits yesterday because of downturns in most of its major businesses.Westinghouse said it earned $65 million, or 15 cents a share, for the three months that ended Sept. 30. That was in contrast to a profit from continuing operations of $91 million, or 22 cents a share, in the same period last year."Obviously, the third quarter's financial results are disappointing," said Michael H. Jordan, who took over as chairman and chief executive earlier this year.

General Motors Corp. surprised analysts yesterday by reporting better-than-expected second-quarter operating profits.GM posted record operating profits of $2.65 a share, up 8.4 percent over the same quarter of 1995. The profits were based on improved earnings from its financing arm, a lower tax rate than expected, and an increase in vehicle production to offset the losses caused by a 17-day strike in April.Most analysts were expecting the world's largest automaker to report operating results in the range of $2.48 to $2.51 a share.

TOKYO -- Most of Japan's largest commercial banks yesterday reported their first net losses in five decades aswrite-offs of trillions of yen in bad loans wiped out record operating profits.The banks projected that aggregate profits through normal operations will plunge 34 percent this year to 2.305 trillion yen ($21.35 billion) as interest rates rise. That will jeopardize their efforts to rid themselves of the bad loans still spoiling their balance sheets."Last fiscal year was absolutely heaven for the banks," said Walter Altherr of Jardine Fleming Securities Ltd."