Sallie Mae Profits Off In Third Quarter

The Student Loan Marketing Association said Thursday its profit fell 15.5 percent in the third quarter, in part because of falling interest rates.

The company, known as Sallie Mae, is a congressionally chartered, shareholder-owned corporation and the nation’s largest source of funding and servicing support for education loans.

Sallie Mae, which operates a loan-processing center in Spokane, reported its profit fell to $81.3 million in the third quarter from $96.3 million in the same period a year earlier.

It attributed the decline in part to a drop in “floor income” to $3.6 million, from $12 million in the third quarter of 1994. Floor income is income the corporation receives on certain loans in low interest rate environments.

It also said it took a $4.6 million after-tax charge related to its decision to sell its CyberMark Inc. subsidiary, which is developing “smart card” technology for the higher education market. A smart card contains a computer chip and has a wide range of uses that include authorizing purchases, verifying account balances and storing personal records.

Despite the lower profits, Sallie Mae said earnings per share inched up to $1.20 a share from $1.19 a share in the third quarter of 1994. The increase was attributed to the repurchase of about 13 million shares of its stock.

Boise Cascade

After languishing in red ink for nearly four years, Boise Cascade Corp. on Thursday reported its third straight profitable quarter and announced net earnings hit a record this summer.

The Boise-based wood products manufacturer said net income in the third quarter totaled $118.5 million, or $1.83 per share of common stock, fully diluted. That compared to nearly $32 million in losses during the July-September quarter of 1994.

“Assuming modest growth in the U.S. and European economies in the months ahead, we anticipate that market conditions for each of our business segments will remain favorable and that the company’s overall performance will continue to be strong,” Chairman George Harad said in a statement.

Sales totaled more than $1.3 billion during the quarter, up 2.3 percent from a year ago.

Harad said continued strength in the paper sector pushed operating income from that segment to $164 million during the third quarter compared ot less than $3 million a year ago. Solid demand for housing bolstered revenue from the building products segment, he said, while sales growth and improvements in margins fueled higher returns from the office products segment.

Willamette Industries

Willamette Industries Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter profits jumped 300 percent, attributing the results to strong paper markets and sound results in its lumber operations.

The Portland-based company said it earned $150.7 million, or $2.73 a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30. That compares with $37.7 million or 68 cents a share in the same quarter last year.

Revenues were up $1.02 billion from $780.8 million.

The earnings announcement follows reports of earnings increases from others in the timber products industry, including Weyerhaeuser Co. and International Paper Co. Though lumber prices have been weak this year, the companies have been bolstered by paper markets.