Rockwell, Free of Chip Unit, Sees Profit Jump

Rockwell International Corp., showing immediate benefits from shedding its semiconductor business, said Tuesday that fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 8.9%, and it predicted that results will surpass Wall Street’s expectations throughout the year.

Profit from continuing operations rose to $134 million, or 70 cents a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $123 million, or 59 cents, in first-quarter 1997. Rockwell was expected to earn 63 cents a share, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call Corp.

Rockwell’s profit had shown year-over-year declines in the previous four quarters. Savings realized in the restructuring aided the results from Rockwell’s avionics and communications businesses, though some analysts say the rest of the year will be a challenge.

Revenue at the Costa Mesa-based company rose slightly, to $1.61 billion from $1.60 billion.

The spun-off chip unit, Conexant Systems Inc., reported a wider-than-expected loss in its fiscal first quarter, even though sales of chips for computer modems improved.

The Newport Beach company reported a pro forma loss of $57.1 million, or 60 cents a share, for the quarter ended Jan. 1, contrasted with earnings of $20.6 million a year earlier. It had been expected to lose 41 cents a share. Revenue fell 23%, to $294.7 million from $383.4 million.

At a Glance

Other earnings, excluding one-time gains and charges unless noted:

* Struggling disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. of Irvine narrowed its losses in its fiscal second quarter but announced another round of cuts, including 70 employees at its Irvine headquarters. It lost $82.3 million, or 93 cents a share, in the period ended Dec. 26, compared with $145.2 million, or $1.66, a year ago. The loss was lower than analysts’ expectations of 99 cents a share. Revenue fell 24%, to $738.6 million from $969.6 million.

* Irvine-based Day Runner Inc., a maker of organizers and address books and business accessories, is cutting 20% of its jobs in an effort to cope with lower-than-expected sales. The cuts affect 350 employees in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and were disclosed as the company said profit plunged 48% in its second quarter.

Profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $2.9 million, or 23 cents a share, down from $5.5 million, or 45 cents, a year ago. Sales rose 31% as a result of the company’s acquisition of Filofax, climbing to $64.6 million from $49.4 million.

* Ascend Communications Inc. said one-time charges led to a $197-million loss in the fourth quarter, but the computer-networking company posted operating profit in line with Wall Street expectations.

The Alameda firm, which last week agreed to be bought by Lucent Technologies Inc. in an $18.5-billion stock swap, posted a loss of $197 million, or 92 cents a share, on a diluted basis, after a one-time charge of $267 million for the acquisition of Stratus Computer Inc. That contrasts with a profit of $47.6 million, or 24 cents, a year ago. Sales rose to $476 million from $292.5 million.

* Fremont-based Avant Corp. reported record net income for the fourth quarter of $13.2 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with $8.2 million, or 24 cents, a year ago. Revenue was a record $63 million, up from $46.3 million last year.

* Qualcomm Inc., a San Diego maker of wireless phone equipment, said fiscal first-quarter profit rose 32%, beating expectations, on strong demand for its digital phones. Profit in the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose to $48.5 million, or 65 cents a share, from $36.7 million, or 50 cents, a year earlier. Analysts had expected about 60 cents.

* San Francisco-based BRE Properties Inc., the largest West Coast apartment real estate investment trust, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 15% to $26.1 million, or 55 cents a share, as expected, from $19 million, or 48 cents, a year ago. Per-share results reflect a 18% increase in the diluted number of shares outstanding to 47.3 million. Revenue rose 35% to $53.9 million.

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California Earnings

A sampling of California-based companies reporting quarterly earnings Tuesday, and expected to report today, ranked by year-over-year earnings-per-share (EPS) growth, compiled by First Call:

Reporting Tuesday

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Analysts’ % above/ 1997 Ticker estimated Actual below 4th-qtr Company symbol EPS EPS est EPS Xircom XIRC $0.34 $0.39 +15% $0.11 Tetra Tech WATR 0.18 0.18 0 0.14 Westamerica Bancorp WABC 0.45 0.46 +2 0.42 RemedyTemp REMX 0.41 0.41 0 0.38

Yr- over-yr Company % change Xircom +255% Tetra Tech +29 Westamerica Bancorp +10 RemedyTemp +8

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Reporting Today

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Analysts’ 1997 Year- Ticker estimated 4th-qtr over-yr Company symbol EPS EPS % change BeBe Stores BEBE $0.37 $0.23 +61% Peregrine Systems PRGN 0.21 0.14 +50 Mentor MNTR 0.26 0.22 +18 Union BanCal UNBC 0.61 0.53 +15 Quantum QNTM 0.24 0.29 --17 Jefferies Group JEF 0.56 0.79 --29 Read-Rite RDRT --0.17 0.02 NM

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* NM = not meaningful. A loss in any period makes percentage change not calculable.

Note: Year-over-year growth and percentage changes are based on earnings-per-share figures and may differ from percentage changes based on total profit.

For more information via the Internet, check https://www.firstcall.com.