Oil Firms, Northrop, MCI Report Quarterly Profits

Texaco Inc.’s earnings dropped 5.9% while Amoco Corp. reported a 60% profit gain in the third quarter, but both companies’ results were skewed by one-time charges and gains, they said Wednesday.

Without the special items, both companies said their earnings rose more than 15% in the July-September quarter.

Higher prices for natural gas helped the results.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, White Plains, N.Y.-based Texaco earned $269 million, or 94 cents a share, on revenue of $10 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company earned $286 million, or $1.01 a share, on revenue of $9.36 billion.

Chicago-based Amoco reported net income of $466 million, or 94 cents a share, for the three months ending Sept. 30, up from $290 million, or 59 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.

Revenue rose 3% to $7.26 billion from $7.04 billion, the company said.

The results included a $42-million gain to correct an overestimate of 1991 taxes. The year-ago results included a $75-million charge for costs of closing an oil refinery in Casper, Wyo.