EARNINGS: Still on the Rise

As the steel strike’s effects continued to mount last week, one thing was certain: except in the steel industry itself, the strike had little effect on third-quarter earnings. Automakers, tobacco, chemical, oil and electronics producers all reported new highs. For most, third-quarter earnings were running about 20% ahead of the same period last year.

Even some of the struck steel giants, despite big quarterly losses, reported nine-month earnings well ahead of last year. Third-ranking Republic reported a net loss of $24,861,406, biggest quarterly loss in its 60-year history. But because of a record second period, Republic’s nine months’ net was $2.69 per share v. $2.50 last year. Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., No. 6 among the nation’s steelmakers, had a third-quarter loss of $7,149,660. In the first nine months of 1959, Youngs-town’s net was $6.20 per share v. $3.32 last year.

Leading the automakers’ third-quarter reports was Ford Motor Co., which had earnings of $53.2 million, or 97¢ per share, v. a $14.9 million loss in the same period last year. The buoyant third period pushed Ford’s nine-month earnings to $6.19 per share. Studebaker-Packard had a third-period net of $3,399,779, or 53¢ per share, v. a loss of $9,200,000 last year, pushed its nine-month earnings to $2.39 per share. Chrysler, hit hard by expansion and new model costs, reported a third-quarter loss of $34.2 million, highest in the company’s history, cutting nine-month earnings to $2.73 per share.

Other nine-month figures: 1958 1959

Du Pont $4.83 $6.90

Radio Corp. of America 1.26 1.80

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco 2.77 3.30

Eastman Kodak 1.65 2.27

Texaco Inc. 3.85 4.41