clarinews@clarinet.com (01/19/90)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (UPI) -- Union Pacific Corp. reported Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings totaled $166.8 million, or $1.64 a share, down 11 percent from $187.4 million, or $1.65 a share, for the same period in 1988. Union Pacific earnings fell to $594.5 million, or $5.62 a share, in 1989, an 8 percent drop from the previous year's earnings of $643.9 million, or $5.65 a share, reported the parent company of Union Pacific Railroad. Market competition was in part responsible for dampening earnings, Union Pacific Chief Executive Officer Drew Lewis said. Union Pacific's Overnite Transportation subsidiary and USPCI, a hazardous material disposal company, dragged corporate earnings down with weaker than expected performances, Union Pacific spokesman Harvey Turner said. High earnings in 1988 were due in part to Union Pacific's sale of one refinery and sale of 50 percent interest in another refinery, Turner said. In separate announcements, Union Pacific Resources Co., an exploration, production and minerals subsidiary, said Thursday it has made four new offshore natural gas discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico. Union Pacific Resources and its parent company are discussing a possible joint venture but no final decision has been made, the company said. Union Pacific Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations rose to $166.8 million, up 7 percent from $156 million in the fourth quarter of 1988. For 1989, earnings from continuing operations totalled $594.5 million, an increase of 6 percent from $558.7 million for the previous year.