Lear-Siegler Earnings Off 36% in First Quarter

Lear-Siegler, which last month warned that Wall Street’s profit predictions were too high, reported a 36% drop in first-quarter earnings.

The Santa Monica-based company earned $11.7 million on sales of $533.4 million for the three months ended Sept. 30. A year earlier, it earned $18.3 million on sales of $543.6 million.

Investors took the news poorly. The company’s stock closed at $47.75, down 50 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company did not report the results of its various business lines but said each suffered setbacks. Sales and operating profits in its aerospace business were hurt by shipment delays and costs associated with quality-control improvements ordered by the government.

Automotive sales increased, but operating profits fell. The company said that it was unable to renegotiate contracts with its customers that would allow it to recover increased costs. Lear-Siegler makes car seats that it sells to General Motors and Ford.

The results nearly matched what Lear-Siegler said a month ago, when it declared that earnings predictions made by investment analysts were excessive. The company’s stock dropped more than $7 on that announcement. Analysts had been expecting earnings in the $19-million to $20-million range.

The company said its earnings for the year would be below the record $100.7 million that it earned in fiscal 1985 but more than the $85.1 million earned in fiscal 1984.