GM Reports Loss but Beats Forecasts

General Motors Corp. said Thursday that it lost $368 million, or 41 cents a share, in the third quarter.

Results included one-time charges of $753 million, or $1.26 a share. Sales slipped to $42.5 billion from $42.7 billion a year ago.

Excluding one-time charges, GM earned $385 million, or 85 cents a share, in the quarter, down from $829 million, or $1.55, a year ago. Results beat analysts’ average forecast of 80 cents a share, Thomson Financial/First Call said.

But GM said fourth-quarter earnings would be about 50 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting 71 cents. In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, GM shares fell 75 cents to close at $42.02.

At a Glance

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

* BellSouth Corp. said operating earnings totaled $1.06 billion, or 56cents a share, in the quarter, up slightly from $1.03 billion, or 55cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 8% to $7.45 billion. After one-time charges, including losses on investments in other telecom firms, BellSouth’s net income was $7 million.

The company also said it will cut 3,000 jobs, or just under 3% of its global work force, to trim costs.

* Coca-Cola Co. said third-quarter profit was flat at $1.07 billion, or 43 cents a share, on sales of $5.4billion, about the same as a year ago. Excluding one-time gains and losses, Coke said it earned 45cents a share, beating the 40-cent average estimate of analysts.

Global case volume sales rose more than 4%, the company said, meeting analysts’ estimates.

Coca-Cola plans to meet analysts’ average estimate of $1.56 a share for this year, Chief Financial Officer Gary Fayard said.

* Eli Lilly & Co.’s third-quarter operating earnings fell 7% as the expiration of its U.S. patent on Prozac, long the top-selling antidepressant, led to competition from cheaper generic versions.

The drug giant’s operating earnings were $723 million, or 66 cents a share, down from $779 million, or 71 cents, a year earlier.

Sales rose 2% to $2.87 billion.

* Merrill Lynch & Co.’s third-quarter earnings tumbled 52% as the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks aggravated Wall Street’s slump. The decline sliced net income to $422 million, or 44cents a share, including one-time charges, from $885 million, or 94cents, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 16% to $5.1 billion.

* McDonald’s Corp. reported earnings slightly below expectations amid a weak U.S. economy. The company said net income was $545.5 million, or 42 cents a share, down from $548.5 million, or 41cents, a year earlier.

The latest quarter’s results included a $137-million gain on the public stock offering of McDonald’s Japanese business, as well as one-time charges of $84 million.

Excluding one-time items, McDonald’s said it earned 38 cents a share in the quarter. Analysts had expected 39 cents.

Systemwide sales rose 1% to $10.6 billion.

* Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times and other major media properties, said operating earnings were 10 cents a share in the quarter, down from 22 cents a year earlier, as ad revenue fell sharply. Results were a penny better than expected.

Including one-time charges, the company said it lost $145.6 million in the quarter, compared with a profit of $73.6 million a year ago. Operating revenue fell 7% to $1.28billion.

Tribune warned that fourth-quarter earnings will fall short of current estimates.

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