GTE reported lower first-quarter earnings. The Stamford,...

GTE reported lower first-quarter earnings. The Stamford, Conn.-based firm said it would have had a 2% profit gain if a special one-time credit were excluded from its 1984 results. The company said strong showings by local telephone- and electrical-products divisions more than offset declines in the Sprint long-distance telephone business and in communications products. Long-distance calling rose 9.4% during the first three months of the year compared to a 5.7% increase last year, GTE said. But the group that includes Sprint, had an operating loss of $27 million in the first quarter. Sprint’s loss was attributed to increased access charges.

E.F. Hutton & Co. reported sharply higher first-quarter profits, which it attributed to increased commissions, interest and insurance revenues. First-quarter net income of $24.1 million was nearly double the $13.1 million for the same period a year ago. New York-based Hutton said that all of its major business segments preformed well in the quarter.

Burroughs said its first-quarter profit rose 8% from a year earlier, while another major computer maker, Honeywell, said its net income climbed 16.7%. Apple Computer said its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 9% on revenues that jumped 45%.

Burroughs said its improved results largely reflect an increase in international and government orders of information systems. The dollar’s strength, however, resulted in only a modest increase in international sales after their conversion.

Honeywell said its operating earnings rose for its computer business and its aerospace-defense operations. Honeywell said its control-products division had lower operating earnings “due primarily to the slowing pace of the U.S. economy.”

Apple, the personal-computer maker based in Cupertino, Calif., said net income for its fiscal second quarter ended March 29 rose to $9.98 million from $9.13 million a year earlier. For the first half of its fiscal year, Apple’s profit rose to $56.1 million from $15 million a year ago, when Apple was spending heavily on development and marketing of its Macintosh personal computer and related products.

Two major pharmaceutical companies, Merck and American Home Products, reported higher first-quarter revenues and earnings but a third, Upjohn, said that sales and earnings slipped during the quarter.

American Home Products, based in New York, said earnings for the first quarter of 1985 were records. The company said the strong dollar depressed foreign sales 3% during the quarter.

Merck, based in Rahway, N.J., reported that net income for the first quarter increased 5% from the like 1984 quarter. John J. Horan, chairman and chief executive of the health- products company, said first-quarter results were adversely affected by the continued strength of the U.S. dollar.

In Kalamazoo, Mich., Upjohn reported first-quarter profits declined 20.7% from a year earlier. The company said that sales of its health-care and agricultural-products segments were lower.

Union Pacific, New York, said its first-quarter earnings rose 11%. Three of the corporation’s four operating companies reported higher profitability than a year ago. Railroad earnings were up 15%.

Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries reported that its first-quarter profits increased about 8%. The company said that its first-quarter profits would have been lower had it not received a $10-million insurance payment for the loss of the SS Puerto Rican, a tanker that burned off the California coast on Oct. 31, 1984. Chairman Vincent A. Sarni attributed PPG’s decline to its chemical business that reported sharply lower profits.

For detailed data and results of other companies, please see accompanying tables.