Unocal Profit Declines 69%; Revenue Up 11%

Unocal Corp., which explores for oil and natural gas and makes fertilizer, said Tuesday that second-quarter profit fell 69% because corporate expenses rose while oil production and fertilizer prices declined.

Profit from operations fell to $19 million, or 8 cents a share, from $62 million, or 26 cents, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose 11% to $1.56 billion from $1.4 billion.

The El Segundo-based company was expected to earn 5 cents a share, the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp. That figure stood at 13 cents July 7, when Unocal warned it would take charges for two unsuccessful wells.

Charges, including $11 million for job cuts and restructuring, and gains from litigation resulted in net income of $9 million, or 4 cents a share.

In the second quarter of 1998, gains including $53 million from asset sales, and charges for environmental and litigation provisions, resulted in net income of $105 million, or 43 cents.

Unocal shares fell 6 cents to close at $40.06 on the New York Stock Exchange.

At a Glance

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

* Avery Dennison Corp., the Pasadena-based maker of labels, postage stamps and other adhesive products, reported record second-quarter earnings of $63.7 million, or 63 cents a share, compared with $57.4 million, or 55 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 6.5%, to $928.5 million from $871.5 million.

* San Diego-based Foodmaker Inc., operator and franchisher of Jack in the Box restaurants, reported record fiscal third-quarter earnings of $17.4 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with $12.6 million, or 31 cents, a year ago. Sales rose 22% to $342 million. Same-store sales rose 10%. Last week, Foodmaker announced it will change its name to Jack in the Box Inc. on Oct. 4.

* Torrance-based aircraft lessor International Aircraft Investors reported a 17% rise in second-quarter net income to $695,000, or 16 cents a share, from $592,000, or 13 cents, a year ago. The company also said it agreed to buy four used planes for more than $110 million, its largest acquisition ever from International Lease Finance Corp., a larger Los Angeles-based lessor.

* El Segundo-based International Rectifier Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $3.3 million, or 6 cents a share, on revenue of $147.5 million. That compares with $400,000, or 1 cent, on revenue of $133.8 million a year ago.

* Jakks Pacific Inc., a Malibu-based maker and distributor of children’s toys, reported second-quarter net income of $3.3 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with $958,000, or 14 cents, a year ago. Sales more than doubled to $36 million from $16.1 million.

* Kennedy-Wilson Inc., a Beverly Hills-based real estate services and investment company, reported second-quarter net income of $930,000, or 11 cents a share, compared with $202,000, or 3 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose to $13.1 million from $6.5 million.

* Los Angeles-based Sanwa Bank California, the third-largest bank with headquarters in California, said second-quarter net income rose 7% to $26.6 million, compared with $24.9 million a year earlier. Interest income fell to $145.2 million from $148.3 million.

* La Canada-based sporting goods retailer Sport Chalet Inc. reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $658,000, or 10 cents a share, compared with $570,000, or 9 cents, a year ago. Sales rose 8%, to $34.7 million from $32.1 million, in part due to the June opening of a store in Long Beach. Sales at stores open at least a year increased 2.5%.

* Pasadena-based Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Inc. reported a second-quarter net loss of $7.1 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with a loss of $5.4 million, or 29 cents, a year ago. Sales rose to $25.5 million from $8.9 million. The company, which sells tickets for entertainment and sporting events and offers other information via the Internet, also warned that third-quarter online ticket sales may decline from the record second-quarter levels of $17.8 million, although it still expects strong year-over-year growth.

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