Polaroid Earns $16.1 Million in Turnaround First Quarter

Polaroid, boosted by a 25% sales increase, reported a profit for the first quarter after a loss for the same period last year.

Net income for the three months was $16.1 million, compared to a loss of $13.8 million during the first quarter of 1985.

The company, which is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., said last year’s first-quarter results included a pretax reserve of $309 million to cover Polaroid’s selective voluntary severance plan. Without the reserve, the company would have earned $4.2 million.

I. MacAllister Booth, president and chief executive, said the company had a 30% increase in domestic sales and an 18% increase in international sales.