Facts & Figures

Up, But . . . U.S. corporate profits were not too big, said the National City Bank of New York, after a survey of 3,102 corporations representing about 45% of the total U.S. corporate net worth. The companies had netted profits of $9,228,038,000 (37% more than in 1946), for an average return of 12.2% on net worth v. 9.5% in 1946. But. profit margins on manufacturers' sales, although up from last year, said the bank, were narrower than margins in "other years of active business."

Down. U.S. exports dropped in February for the fourth successive month. The U.S. shipped $1,086,400,000 worth of goods, $4,300,000 less than in January, and 23.5% less than in the peak month of May 1947. Imports of $582,000,000 were up 7% over January.

No Cause for Alarm? A drop in total sales in February, due to the short month, made manufacturers' inventories grow by $300,000,000, to $24,300,000,000, an all-time high, said the Department of Commerce. But as long as sales kept pace with production (and the daily average value of shipments was up 5%), the figures gave no cause for alarm.

Esso Cuts. Esso Standard Oil Co., last of the industry to hike prices last fall, was also the first to slash them again. It cut the prices of more than 350 products (bottled gas, roofing asphalts, industrial lubricants, etc.) from 5% to 25%. By week's end Shell Oil Co., Inc. had followed Esso Standard's lead. Unchanged: the price of gasoline.

Koppers Cops. Pittsburgh's Koppers Co., Inc. got a Government contract to build a $4,413,250 plant to make oil from coal near Louisiana, Mo. It was the fourth Government-sponsored synthetic oil plant authorized since 1944 (the others : an earlier oil-from-coal plant at Louisiana, Mo.; an oil-from-shale plant at Rifle, Colo., and a fuel-from-farm-products plant at Peoria, Ill.).

Johnny Presents. With an ear cupped to tobacco trade gossip--which had Philip Morris' sales slipping--President Alfred E. Lyon gave out a preliminary report of the 1947-48 fiscal year. Both gross and unit sales were up over the preceding year, said Al Lyon, thanks to a sharp increase in the last two months (last year's gross: $170,105,550).

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