Tenneco Inc., the parent of Tenneco Packaging of Evanston and Deerfield-based Tenneco Automotive, said it lost $361 million, or $2.15 a share, in the fourth quarter, a reversal from net income of $183 million, or $1.05 a share, a year earlier.
The Greenwich, Conn.-based company said fourth-quarter operating earnings were wiped out by special charges, including pretax write-offs of $17 million for employee benefits for restructuring layoffs; $64 million to streamline Tenneco Automotive’s operations, and $6 million to reorganize a portion of Tenneco Packaging operations.
The company said revenue rose 22 percent, to $1.69 billion from $1.38 billion a year earlier.
Tenneco Packaging had fourth-quarter operating income of $60 million, down 20 percent from $75 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 21 percent, to $931 million from $769 million.
Tenneco Automotive had operating income of $4 million, down 91 percent from $45 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 23 percent, to $757 million from $616 million.
For the year, Tenneco said its net income fell 44 percent, to $410 million, or $2.33 a share, from $735 million, or $4.16 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 26 percent, to $6.57 billion from $5.22 billion.
Tenneco Packaging’s annual operating income declined 7 percent, to $401 million from $430 million a year earlier. The unit’s annual revenue rose 31 percent, to $3.6 billion from $2.75 billion.
Tenneco Automotive’s 1996 operating income inched up 4 percent, to $249 million from $240 million. Revenue rose 20 percent, to $2.98 billion from $2.48 billion.
