In a slowing economy, corporate earnings were supposed to be skating on thin ice, according to the self-anointed wise heads of Wall Street. So far, the first-quarter performance has drawn applause.
To be sure, there were spills. International Business Machines Corp. said net income was up only 5 percent and warned that profit margins may narrow. If that was unexpected, the Apple Computer Inc. report of a $740 million second fiscal quarter loss was fully anticipated as the company said it would sell assets and cut 2,800 workers.
In Detroit, Chrysler Corp. continued to star as the auto industry’s top performer, recording first-quarter profits of $1 billion, more than double a year earlier, thanks to sales of high-margin mini-vans and light trucks. Ford Motor Co. reported a drop of 57 percent, but said the worst is over and the outlook is good for the rest of the year.
For the Chicago area, most banks did well. Northern Trust Co. said first-quarter net earnings rose 25 percent to a record $61.5 million. First Chicago NBD Corp., the Midwest’s biggest bank, reported a 1 percent gain to $340 million, which was more than analysts had expected.
Area corporations posting gains were Sears Roebuck and Co., up 22 percent; McDonald’s Corp. 7 percent; FMC Corp. 5 percent; and WMX Technologies Inc. 83 percent.
