
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 21, 1995                   TAG: 9504210120
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ARMONK, N. Y.                                 LENGTH: Short

IBM EARNINGS FAR EXCEED WALL STREET PROJECTIONS

Thursday was a bright day at the corporate headquarters of IBM. And the sun was shining, too.

The company reported a $1.29 billion profit in the first quarter, nearly four times its year-ago earnings and far above Wall Street expectations. IBM stock finished the day up $1.87 1/2 on the New York Stock Exchange at $89, its highest close since August 1992.

While International Business Machines Corp., like many U.S.-based, multinational companies, received a boost because of recent currency fluctuations, its comparable performance also exceeded outsiders' forecasts.

It was the first period in the two-year tenure of chief executive Louis V. Gerstner Jr. that substantial job cuts or other cost-cutting measures did not dominate the bottom line.

``This quarter made very clear to us that we've moved out of the phase that was primarily cost reduction into one of growth and market-share gains,'' Gerstner said.

For the three months ended March 31, IBM's profit amounted to $2.12 per share, exceeding analysts' forecasts of $1.60.

A year ago, IBM earned $336 million, or 54 cents per share, excluding the government systems subsidiary that it sold during that period.

Revenue was $15.74 billion, up nearly 18 percent from $13.37 billion in the year-ago period.

by CNB