Hughes’ 4th-Quarter Profit Plunges

Hughes Electronics Corp. on Wednesday reported sharply lower fourth-quarter earnings, as losses abroad offset higher sales spurred by record U.S. subscribers to its DirecTV satellite television system.

El Segundo-based Hughes said fourth-quarter profit, excluding one-time items, fell to $13.2 million, or 3 cents a share, from $27.8 million, or 7 cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue rose 5.7% to $1.79 billion from $1.69 billion a year ago, helped by the rise in DirecTV subscribers and higher sales of commercial satellites.

Hughes Electronics shares fell 75 cents to close at $47.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Hughes attributed the weaker earnings to losses at Hughes Network Systems’ international wireless telephone business and higher start-up costs for the first full year of operation of its 32%-owned DirecTV Japan.

Including one-time items, Hughes’ net income rose to $128.2 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with pro forma earnings of $70 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, Hughes’ sales rose to $5.9 billion from $5.1 billion in 1997, with DirecTV generating the majority of the increase.

Earnings for 1998, excluding one-time items, increased to $165.9 million, or 41 cents a share, versus pro forma earnings of $110.2 million, or 28 cents a share, for all of 1997.

At a Glance

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

* @Home Corp., which this week disclosed it will buy No. 2 Internet search directory Excite Inc. for $7.5 billion, said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed in line with analysts’ estimates.

Redwood City-based @Home, which provides high-speed Internet access via cable TV lines, said it signed up more subscribers, reducing its net loss to $7.6 million, or 6 cents a share, before distribution agreement and acquisition costs. It had a loss of $11.8 million, or 11 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Analysts expected the company to lose 6 cents a share. Revenue rose to $19.2 million from $3.7 million a year ago.

* San Francisco-based PG&E; Corp., California’s largest power company, said fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, beating estimates, as it retained electricity customers in its home state and added new ones in New England.

Net income rose to $196 million, or 51 cents a share, from $93.9 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier. That beat the 38-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. Revenue rose 12% to $5.5 billion from $4.89 billion.

* Silicon Graphics Inc. said that it narrowed its quarterly loss to $20.3 million, beating Wall Street expectations. The Mountain View-based maker of powerful desktop computers said its loss in the fiscal second quarter, ended Dec. 31, was 11 cents a share on a diluted basis.

Silicon Graphics lost $31.5 million, or 17 cents a diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue fell 19% to $684.8 million from $850.8 million.

The results topped analysts’ expectations for a loss of 19 cents per share.

* San Francisco-based UnionBanCal Corp. reported fourth-quarter net income of $114.1 million, or 65 cents per share, up from $92.4 million, or 53 cents, a year ago.

* OTHER EARNINGS: C3

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California Earnings

A sampling of companies reporting quarterly earnings Wednesday, and expected to report today, ranked by year-over-year earnings-per-share (EPS) growth, compiled by First Call:

California Companies Reporting Wednesday

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Analysts’ Pct. above/ 1997 Ticker estimated Actual below 4th-qtr. Company symbol EPS EPS estimate EPS BeBe Stores BEBE $0.37 $0.38 +3% $0.23 Peregrine Systems PRGN 0.21 0.22 +5 0.14 Jefferies Group JEF 0.56 0.79 +41 0.79 Read-Rite RDRT -0.17 0.02 NM 0.02 Quantum QNTM 0.24 0.29 +21 0.29 Silicon Graphics SG -0.19 -0.14 NM 0.00

Year- over-year Company % change BeBe Stores +65% Peregrine Systems +57 Jefferies Group 0 Read-Rite 0 Quantum 0 Silicon Graphics NM

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Reporting Today

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Ticker Consensus Year-ago Predicted Company symbol EPS estimate quarter pct. chg. Xylan XYLN 0.23 0.14 +64 QLogic QLGC 0.70 0.44 +59 Sun Microsystems SUNW 0.66 0.57 +16 Walt Disney DIS 0.24 0.37 -35 DAOU Systems DAOU 0.02 0.06 -67 Varian Associates VAR 0.19 0.64 -70 IndyMac Mortgage NDE -0.88 0.48 NM Newhall Land & Farming NHL 0.10 NM NM

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* NM = not meaningful. A loss in any period makes percentage change not calculable.

Note: Year-over-year growth and percentage changes are based on earnings-per-share figures and may differ from percentage changes based on total profit.

For more information via the Internet, check https://www.firstcall.com.