Rockwell's earnings socked by recession: but Northrop Corp. is given a boost by B-2 revenues.

Rockwell's earnings socked by recession

But Northrop Corp. is given a boost by B-2 revenues

Two Los Angeles aerospace and defense contractors reported opposite results for the quarter ended March 31. El Segundo-based Rockwell International Corp. announced its net income droped by 10 percent while Northrop Corp. in Century City reported an adjusted 36 percent increase in profits, to $39.3 million.

Rockwell reported that in its second quarter of fiscal 1991 it had net income of $155.2 million on revenues of $2.9 billion, compared to profits of $173.4 million on revenues of $3.1 billion during the same quarter of last year.

Per share earnings for the second quarter were 66 cents compared to 70 cents in the same 1990 period, Rockwell noted.

Rockwell attributed its quarterly results, particularly those of its graphics and automotive units, to recessionary problems. Company officials said sales in its automotive unit dropped from $690 million to $591 million and operating earnings declined from $41.7 million to $8.7 million in the quarter.

Sales in Rockwell's graphics unit went from $272 million to $202 million and operating earnings dropped from $38.7 million to $21.2 million, the company reported.

In its aerospace division, Rockwell reported that sales in the quarter dropped from $955 million to $937 million but operating earnings went up slightly to $130.8 million.

In its electronics division, sales went up from $1.23 billion to $1.26 billion and operating earnings increased from $145.9 million to $159.2 million, the company noted.

"The second quarter results were in line with our expectations at the beginning of the fiscal year, with the economic downturn impacting particularly our automotive businesses," said Rockwell Chairman Donald Beall. "We continue to believe our 1991 full year earnings per share, even with the uncertainties of the current economic environment, will be somewhat higher than in fiscal 1990."

At Northrop, company officials said earnings in the first quarter of 1991 were $39.3 million compared to $28.9 million in the same 1990 period, which excludes a one-time gain of $67.1 million from the sale of its headquarters building.

Per share earnings for the period were 84 cents, compared to 62 cents in the 1990 period (excluding the sale of the building), on sales of $1.25 billion for the three-month period. For the first quarter of 1990, Northrop had revenues of $1.28 billion.

Northrop officials said revenue increases from its B-2 program, production of 747 fuselages, missiles, unmanned vehicles and electronics business produced the improved quarterly results.

Northrop reported for the quarter that its operating margin increased 47 percent to $78.5 million, or 6.3 percent of sales. In the same 1990 period, the operating margin was $53.4 million, or 4.2 percent of sales.