Earnings Show the Way

As a flood of 1954 earnings reports poured in last week, there was no doubt about the sharp upturn in profits in last year's final quarter. General Electric Co. boosted its fourth-quarter net to $72 million, 46% over the comparable period of 1953 and 53% above 1954's third quarter. Despite a 5% decline in sales for the year, G.E. racked up a net of $213 million, up 28% from 1953, for the highest profits in G.E. history. President Ralph J. Cordiner predicted that this year will be even more prosperous.

All across the board, the profit charts showed an upward curve. Radio Corp. of America boosted its fourth-quarter earnings to $12,968,000, a fat 31% above last year. For the full year, R.C.A. earned $41 million (v. 1953's $35 million). Eastman Kodak Co. pushed its last-quarter profits up more than 50%, to $23 million, closed the year with earnings of $3.99 a share (v. $2.86 for 1953). Even the cancer-scared tobacco industry moved up. R. J. Reynolds (Camels) sent its fourth-quarter profits up 22%, to $10,360,000.

The busy automakers sent a wave of prosperity glimmering through many an allied industry, e.g., steel, rubber. On a wave of orders from Detroit, Bethlehem Steel's fourth-quarter profits rose 20% above 1953, to $48,383,317, and Republic Steel Corp.'s earnings for the comparable period went up 27%, to $17,781,218. Goodyear's final-quarter earnings reached $16,256.508 (v. $14,001,706 in 1953); Goodrich's hit $11,444,008, up more than $2,000,000 from the year before. Du Pont's fourth-quarter earnings doubled, to $2.59 a share; for the full year, profits rose from $4.94 a share in 1953 to $7.33 (from Du Pont's operations: $5.30; from General Motors dividends: $2.03).

Profits of airlines and aircraft builders continued to soar. Curtiss-Wright Corp. more than doubled 1953's fourth-quarter earnings, to $7,922,497; American Airlines raised 1953'-fourth-quarter profits 271%, to $9,008,930.

Even the profit-hungry railroads were rolling ahead. In January this year, Pennsylvania earned $1,658,066, v. a loss of $2,056,351 for the same month of 1954. The New Haven Railroad showed profits of about $1,000,000 for January, v. last year's $283,000 loss; Union Pacific reported a net of $5,124,261, an 18% gain over 1954, and Bob Young's New York Central reported a net profit of $3,082,934, v. a loss of $2,762,696 in January of 1954.

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