Earnings reports

With takeover rumors scaring off buyers, Apple Computer Inc. declared Thursday it is not discussing a merger with anyone.

The company also said the financial loss it had previously forecast for the first three months of the year would be greater than the $69 million loss it suffered in the last three months of 1995.

A key reason, Apple said, was the “adverse impact of such rumors and speculation on customer buying decisions.” But new Chief Executive Officer Gil Amelio expressed hope for reviving the third-largest personal computer maker.

“I fully expect that our customers’ grandchildren will be buying Apple products,” Amelio said.

The statement ended nearly a week of silence that had started to cause more speculation about the direction of the company. For nearly a month, Apple had reportedly been talking to Sun Microsystems Inc. about a buyout, though neither company said for sure.

In other earnings reports Thursday:

Westinghouse Electric Corp. said it lost $7 million in the fourth quarter, partly due to interest costs from the purchase of CBS Inc.

The loss, which amounted to 2 cents a share, compared with a loss of $107 million, or 30 cents a share, in the same period of 1994.

The latest quarter included 37 days of income from CBS, including $59 million in costs related to the purchase of the broadcasting company. Those costs reduced earnings by 8 cents a share.

Excluding special items, the company’s profits fell 16 percent to $117 million, or 26 cents a share, from $139 million, or 32 cents a share.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. reported that fourth-quarter earnings fell 11 percent, partly because of the peso devaluation and recession in Mexico.

Earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31, were $122.5 million, or 80 cents per share, vs. $137.1 million or 91 cents per share a year earlier. Sales rose to $2.15 billion from $1.996 billion, an increase of 11 percent due to overseas growth.

For the year, Colgate earned $172 million, or $1.04 per share, on sales of $8.36 billion, vs. $580.2 million, or $3.82 per share, on sales of $7.59 billion.