Westinghouse Electric Corp. released third-quarter earnings yesterday and, as expected, there was not a lot to celebrate.
After taking a pretax charge of $155 million to cover losses related to the operations of its financial services unit Westing- house reported income of $14 million on revenue of slightly more than $3 billion for the quarter.
In the same quarter last year, Westinghouse recorded a loss of $1.5 billion, equal to $4.86 a share, on revenues of $3.4 billion. Westinghouse took a $1.68 billion charge in the third quarter last year to cover losses from its financial services unit.
Westinghouse said the majority of the quarter's provision for losses -- $100 million -- pertains to investments in Phar-Mor Inc., a bankrupt drugstore chain, and the settlement of the suit filed by a mutual fund, related to its March purchase of Phar-Mor stock from Westinghouse Credit.
Excluding the results of its financial services unit, the company's operating profit for the third quarter was $244 million.This compareswith an operating profit of $242 million in the same period last year following a similar adjustment.
For the first nine months of the year, Westinghouse posted a loss of $110 million compared with a loss of $1.26 billion in the same period last year.
Following its disappointing results last year, Westinghouse revealed cost-cutting plans plans that included the elimination of 4,000 jobs from its work force, resulting in about 1,300 layoffs at the company's Maryland operations.
This year's results have also fueled speculation that more layoffs are coming.
A Westinghouse spokesman, Jay A. McCaffrey, said yesterday, however, that there was no companywide program in place at this time for across-the-board manpower cuts like those the company made last year. He said any layoffs would be made at division levels and would be based on projections for new business.
Reporting on its defense operations, the majority of which is based in the Baltimore area, the company said operating profits at the Electronic Systems Group increased in both the quarter and first nine months of the year.
It attributed the gains primarily to improvements in its business that is unrelated to the Department of Defense. Revenues were down substantially in the quarter and down for the first nine months for the group, even though it received a settlement for the cancellation of the Navy's A-12 stealth attack plane, nicknamed the Avenger, in 1991.
That cancellation, in January last year, resulted in about 1,200 layoffs. The company said yesterday that the settlement had no impact on operating profits because it was a reimbursement of costs incurred.
Mr. McCaffrey said the amount of the settlement was proprietary information and would not be disclosed.
%Three months ended 9/30/92
........................Revenue. . . . . . Net. ................ Share '92. .92...............3,039,000,000 ....14,000,000. ............ ..... 0.0
'91. ........... 3,426,000,000... (1,482,000,000)...............(4.86)
% change..................-12.3................ NA............. ...... NA
Nine months ended 9/30/92
. ................Revenue. ............... Net................. Share
'92. ...........9,011,000,000...... (110,000,000).......... (0.36)
'91............ 9,377,000,000. .....(1,257,000,000)........ (4.11)
% change..................-3.9................... NA.............. NA