Earnings: Not All Bad

As fourth-quarter and year-end earnings were reported last week, the news was not all bad, and in some industries it was surprisingly bright.

Despite the problems of surplus, the oil companies did well. Texaco's indicated fourth-quarter profits rose to $1.73 per share from $1.44, giving it a year-end profit record of $6.34 per share v. $5.85 a year earlier. Said Chairman Augustus C. Long: "New records were established in every phase of our operations." This year will be even better, he thinks, with U.S. demand improving 2% to 3% and overseas demand by 7%. Socony Mobil piled up indicated earnings of 96-c- per share v. 84-c- in the fourth quarter, for a year's total of $3.76 v. $3.38. Standard Oil (Indiana), in the fourth quarter, hit $1.17 per share v. 93-c-, finished the year with $4.05 per share v. $3.90.

"Inventory Miracle." The steel industry continued to report profits despite its recession. U.S. Steel's Chairman Roger M. Blough said that fourth-quarter profits rose to 97-c- per share from the third quarter's 85-c-, a good recovery from a strike-depressed 44-c- in fourth quarter 1959. Big Steel finished the year with profits of $5.17 per share v. $4.25. Of future prospects, Chairman Blough says: "If customers could get along on any less steel than they have at the present time, it would be something like an inventory miracle. In the next month or so we will see a noticeable pickup." Other steel producers showed earnings drops but still managed to stay in the black: National Steel earned 86-c- v. $1.66 in the fourth quarter, $5.53 v. $7.28 for the year; Allegheny Ludlum earned 66-c- per share v. 73-c- in the fourth, $2.25 v. $2.92 for the year.

In the auto industry. Ford Motor Co.'s earnings dropped slightly, to $2.04 per share from $2.05, and Henry Ford II, chairman and president, said that this year's first quarter will be lower than last year's. For the year. Ford earned $7.80 per share v. $8.24. American Motors reported that its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31 saw a profit drop to 56-c- per share from 68-c- because of a cost squeeze, even though sales were up 6.2%.

Excess Capacity. At General Electric, Chairman Ralph J. Cordiner blamed excess capacity and price cutting in the electrical industry for G.E.'s drop in fourth-quarter profits from $1.03 per share in 1959 to 36-c- last year. The year's earnings were off a sizable 29% ($2.26 per share v. $3.19), even though G.E. shipped a greater volume of goods than ever before.

Other fourth-quarter earnings:

Fourth Quarter 1960 1959 METALS American Metal Climax .70 .67 Harvey Aluminum .25 .20 CHEMICALS Hercules Powder .71 .66 Union Carbide $1.35 $1.49 FOOD & LIQUOR National Biscuit $1.15 $1.14 DRUGS Norwich Pharmacal A3 .37 TOBACCO American Tobacco $1.19 $1.17 Philip Morris $1.34 $1.26 MISCELLANEOUS Minneapolis-Honeywell $1.12 $1.23

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