DeSoto Inc. said its second-quarter earnings from operations fell 19.9 percent from a year earlier as sales of several major products dropped.
Net earnings, however, rose sharply because of a gain from the sale of a paint and detergent plant in California, the Des Plaines-based company said.
Operating earnings fell to $3.9 million, or 99 cents a share. In the year-earlier period net income was $4.9 million, or $1.02 a share. A net gain of about $2.9 million from the plant sale boosted net earnings in the most recent quarter to $6.8 million, or $1.73 a share, up 40 percent from the 1986 period.
Sales declined 10.8 percent, to $118.7 million from $131.5 million.
The company said sales of consumer paint, some industrial coatings and household detergents fell, while the disposal of its automotive coatings and fatty acid businesses also hurt second-quarter sales.
For the first six months, the gain from the plant sale helped boost net earnings to $9 million, or $2.27 a share, from $7.3 million, or $1.53 a share, a year earlier. Sales fell 8.4 percent, to $209 million from $228.3 million.
