The Red & the Black

The automakers, hardest hit by the recession, last week gave out the bad news for the third quarter. Ford reported a loss of $21.6 million, bringing the deficit for nine months to $16.2 million, v. $229.5 million profit in the same period last year. Chrysler's ink was even redder: its third-quarter loss of $20-million pushed the loss for nine months to a total of $45.2 million, v. a $103.6 million profit in 1957. Studebaker-Packard, which lost $12.4 million in the first nine months of 1957, lost $22.5 million through this September.

There were still plenty of other recession sufferers, but to a lesser degree. Youngstown Sheet & Tube's third-quarter earnings were off to $3.6 million from $9.9 million last year; Republic Steel's were off to $15.2 million from $20.1 million; Inland Steel's dropped to $12.1 million from $13.4 million; RCA's net fell to $6.3 million from $8.0 million; Reynolds Metals' to $8.9 million from $9.3 million; National Distillers' to $5.1 million from $6.0 million; American Cyanamid's to $8,687,983 from $12,872,956.

The brightest spot to most companies, even those whose profits were down, was the fact that the third quarter often showed a sharp increase over the second quarter, when the recession bottomed out. Aluminum Co. of America earned $13.3 million in the third quarter, up from $8.0 million in the second; St. Joseph Lead earned $405,055, up from a $209,935 deficit; and Kennecott Copper $14.8 million, up from $11.3 million.

Even the railroad industry was picking up fast. New York Central, which has a loss of $8.4 million for the first nine months this year, v. $8.8 million earned in the same period of 1957, reported earnings of $1.9 million in September, v. $0.3 million in September 1957.

Some other notable third-quarter pickup (in millions):

1958

3RD 2ND

QUARTER QUARTER

Sylvania Electric $ 3.8 $ 1.4

White Motor Co. 1.5 1.2

B. F. Goodrich 9.1 8.0

Du Pont 80.0 72.2

Standard Oil (N.J.) 171.0 124.0

Ohio Oil Co. 7.9 6.8

Creole Petroleum 88.1 74.7

Union Bag--Camp Paper 4.0 3.4

For a third group of companies reporting last week, September quarter earnings were better than the third quarter 1957, and for some they were the best in their history.

1958 1957

TOBACCO

R. J. Reynolds $21.1 $18.5

Liggett & Myers 8.8 7.9

FOODS, BEVERAGES

General Foods $12.6 $11.7

Pepsi-Cola 4.0 3.1

Standard Brands 3.5 3.3

CHEMICALS, DRUGS

Union Carbide $34.6 $34.0

Diamond Alkali 1.6 1.5

Norwich Pharmacal 1.5 1.3

BUILDING MATERIALS

Lehigh Portland Cement $ 3.1 $ 1.9

National Gypsum 5.3 3.7

Flintkote 2.2 1.9

U.S. Gypsum 12.6 11.3

MISCELLANEOUS

Caterpillar Tractor $14.1 $ 9.9

Container Corp. 3.7 3.6

Stewart Warner 1.3 1.2

Libbey-Owens-Ford 5.1 3.9

Burroughs 1.6 0.8

Shell 2.6 30.5

Socony Mobil 48.2 48.0

Phillips 21.2 20.8

Eastman Kodak 26.3 25.4

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