Companies Report Mixed Results

General Motors Corp. on Tuesday said cost cutting and strong North American earnings led to a $1.07 billion quarterly profit that was slightly better than analysts expected.

GM earnings fell 16 percent from the same quarter a year ago. But profits would have been up if not for last year’s one-time income boost and tax credits, said J. Michael Losh, the chief financial officer.

North American operations posted a record third-quarter profit of $423 million, up 52 percent from a year ago. That made up for weakness in other sectors, including profit drops of 77 percent in GM’s Delphi parts operation and 58 percent in GM’s international operations.

The nation’s biggest automaker earned $1.35 a share in the July-September period, compared with $1.27 billion, or $1.57 per share, a year ago. GM said year-ago earnings were inflated by $253 million, or 34 cents a share, from a reduction in GM’s plant closing reserve.

Before Tuesday’s earnings were released, the average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by First Call was $1.21 a share.

In other earnings reports Tuesday:

Intel Corp. reported a 20 percent gain in third-quarter profit, slightly below expectations, as demand strengthened for its new microprocessors but unexpectedly weakened for flash memory chips.

Intel, the world’s largest maker of computer chips, earned $1.57 billion, or 88 cents a share, in the July-September quarter, up from $1.31 billion, or 74 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue also rose 20 percent, to $6.2 billion from $5.1 billion.

Industry analysts surveyed by IBES International Inc. had predicted average earnings of 91 cents a share.

Burdened by a film-price war with Japanese nemesis Fuji while it struggles to make money from digital photography, Eastman Kodak Co. said third-quarter profits plunged 43 percent.

The world’s biggest imaging company earned $232 million, or 71 cents a share, in the July-September quarter, down from $410 million, or $1.22 cents a share, a year ago.

Sales fell 9 percent from $4.18 billion to $3.79 billion.

Excluding a one-time charge of $46 million, or 9 cents a share, to cover an antitrust lawsuit, the results lined up with many analysts’ forecasts.

Sprint reported it earned $211.7 million, or 49 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30. That was down from $312.4 million, or 72 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues rose 7.9 percent to $3.79 billion from $3.52 billion.

The profits were hurt by wider losses from Sprint’s joint ventures and emerging businesses, including digital wireless service and Internet access.

The profits fell within expectations of analysts surveyed by IBES International Inc.

Potlatch Corp. reported lower third-quarter earnings Friday, citing poor market conditions that led to a 29 percent drop in oriented strand board sales compared with the same period last year.

Net earnings for the third quarter of 1997 were $14.1 million, compared with $19.5 million a year earlier. Net sales were $395.4 million, a $2.8 million drop from the year before.

The company’s wood products group reported operating income of $15.3 million for the third quarter of this year, down from $18.5 million earned in the third quarter of 1996. Potlatch CEO John M. Richards said improved shipments of all other wood products helped offset the majority of the earnings decline for oriented strand board.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: STOCKS UNFAZED Financial markets shrugged off earnings reports Tuesday, focusing instead on trends in the bond market. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 24.07, closing at 8,096.29.