Evening star., 1938-05-03
EARNINGS SHOW
LARGE DECREASE
Nets of 280 Firms Slump to
Less Than One-Third of
1887 Levels.
BY J. G. DONLEY.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK, May 3-While prices
are the nerve system Of business, and
volume Of production may be likened
to the pulse-beat, we must look to
profits, as the diet, to determine
whether industry is properly nour-
ished and is getting all the vitamins
1t needs for vim and vigor
For the last two weeks profit-and-
loss statements for the first quarter
Of 1888 have been pouring out in
an increasing stream from business
headquarters, and those who have
followed the daily grist of such news
do not need to be told that corpora
tions have been on a diet so dras-
tically slenderizing as to threaten
nervous breakdowns There have
been certain outstanding instances OF
course, Of exceptionally good fare, but
these have merely proved the rule
that recessions eat rapidly into profits
and. in great many instances
change the color of bookkeepers' ink
from black to red.
Huge Decline Seen.
Combining the net profits. less
deficits. Of the first 280 leading cor
porations to report for the first three
months Of this year, the aggregate
is found to be slightly less than one
third the combined net profits of the
same companies in the first quarter
of 1887, and less than one-half the
combined net profits for the last quar-
ter of 1887.
l. A total of 81 of the leading cor.
porations which have so far pub
lished statements, according to tab
ulation and analysis in the May letter
of the National City Bank Of New
York. made no profits whatever ir
the first quarter of this year, but
suffered a loss of capital instead. In
the first quarter of 1887 only 16 o1
these companies operated "in the red.
Red ink" made its appearance mos,
frequently in such classifications as
auto accessories. coal mining, hard
ware and tools, iron and steel, railway
equipment, textiles and apparel and
miscellaneous services. Under each
of these classifications the combined
statements of all companies reporting
resulted in deficits for the groups.
Show Largest Drop.
Particularly severe declines IN COM
bined net profits were shown by q
group of 20 building material COM
panies, with a decrease of 909 per cent
under the first quarter of 1887; one
large automobile company down Bic
per cent; eight merchandising CON-
panies, down SOL per cent; 33 miscel.
laneous manufacturing companies
down 64.4 per cent; nine house
hold goods and supply companies
down 56.1 per cent; % machinery
companies, down 52.7 per cent, and
eight electrical equipment concerns
down 51.3 per cent.
On the other side of the picture, six
baking companies were able to show
a gain of 1872 per cent in aggregate
net profits, and five liquor companies
gained 9.6 per cent. At the same time
sales of many companies in the amuse-
ment, food and petroleum industries
were relatively we'll maintained and
their profits declined only moderately
Aggregate first-quarter sales Of the
reporting chain store, department store
and mail order organizations declined
by 81 per cent. Sales OF the manu-
featuring group declined exactly three
times as sharply, or 1873 per cent
Despite the aggregate downward trend
number of individual companies In
both groups recorded gains.
(Copyright. 1881