Firestone Tire & Rubber Narrows 4th-Quarter Loss

Firestone Tire & Rubber posted a net loss of $36 million for its fiscal fourth quarter because of a $65-million charge related to its restructuring efforts.

Earnings from continuing operations, however, jumped to $25 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31 from $2 million a year earlier, while sales edged up to $969 million from $945 million, the tire maker said.

In the year-earlier quarter, another restructuring charge of $57 million resulted in a net loss of $47 million.

The latest charges against earnings pertain largely to Firestone’s restructuring of its North American tire operations this year. Efforts to cut the operations’ costs, together with lower raw materials prices, boosted the unit’s profitability in fiscal 1986, Firestone said.

For the full year, Firestone’s earnings from ongoing lines more than doubled to $68 million from $30 million in the previous year.

The $65-million restructuring charge that otherwise would have reduced the latest full-year results was offset by two extraordinary gains--$16 million from discontinued operations and $66 million from a change in its pension accounting.

Thus, Firestone’s net income for fiscal 1986 rose to $85 million from $3 million the year before. Sales slipped to $3.5 billion from $3.6 billion.

For detailed data and results of other companies, please see tables, Page 5.