Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1963)

NEW SERIES VOL. 3, No. 9 TELEVISION DIGEST— 11 RCA & ZENITH AT PEAK; Record 1962 sales & earnings were racked up by both RCA & Zenith (see financial table). RCA earnings shot ahead 45% to $51.5 million from 1961’s $35.5 million as sales climbed 13% to $1,752 billion from record $1,546 billion. Zenith posted profits of 319-6 million — up 9% from 1961’s record $18 million. Sales jumped 14% to $312.2 million from $274.2 million. Zenith earnings have boomed 140% since 1957 on a 95% sales rise, Chmn. Hugh Robertson & Pres. Joseph S. Wright noted, adding; “The year 1963 gives tangible promise of being another year of continued progress & growth for Zenith.” They said 1963’s first-quarter sales should set record, reported Jan. factory shipments of both color and b&w TVs were highest for any month. Shipments of b&w TVs in 1962 also set record & exceeded 1 million units for 4th consecutive year. Color TV also was major factor in 1962’s increased volume they said. Distributor radio sales set all-time record, as did Zenith’s production and sales of stereo. RCA, in annual report to 168,000 stockholders, said ( 1 ) “color sets & tubes were the largest profit contributors of any products sold by RCA in 1962” (Vol. 3:4 pl2), (2) color set sales “doubled over those of 1961,” (3) profits from color manufacturing & services “increased 5-fold,” (4) RCA TV set unit sales topped million mark, “with dollar volume surpassing the peak year of 1950,” (5) NBC posted sales & profit records, (6) color TV’s “rate of growth suggests that it will surpass $400 million this year,” vs. industry’s $200 million revenue in 1962. RCA last week also increased quarterly cash dividends on common stock to 35^ per share from 25^, payable April 29 to holders of record March 18. Chmn. David Samoff said increase “reflects both the record of the past and the outlook for the future.” Trode Personolt Russell W. Johnson, ex-Westinghouse TV-Radio Div. ad mgr., joins Ideal Toy Co. as ad mgr. Robert Slepian appointed Sylvania Home & Commercial Electronics ad mgr., succeeding Donald Price, advanced to Sylvania corporate ad staff. Philip M. Pritchard promoted to Midwest sales mgr. for all General Instrument 'TV-radio components, headquartering at 5232 Diversey St., Chicago. Louis R. Wanner named chief engineer, Sylvania’s receiving tube operation. Emporium, Pa. Charles E. Erb, Westinghouse Major Appliance Div. gen. mgr., elected a dir. of Westinghouse Credit Corp. William P. Hilliard advanced to pres, of General Precision’s GPL Div., succeeding R. W. Lee, named exec, vp & gen. mgr. of Information Systems Group, a new post. Rudolph E. Carlson Jr., ex-Motorola, named Sylvania Home & Commercial Electronics product planning mgr. George Pyre named Webcor pres., succeeding Titus Haffa who continues as chmn. PhilcO KsgoinS Vigor: Consumer products business which accounts for “roughly half of Philco’s volume is approaching the breakeven point, insiders indicate,” reported Feb. 25 Wall St. Journal in long analysis of Philco under Ford management. Four of 6 key divisions, including Consumer Products, “were operating in the red when Ford took over.” Now, “as a result of new cost-saving procedures, 2 of the 4 losing operations are making money.” Over-all sales, however, “have been slower to respond to the infusion of Ford capital & know-how, slipping to $400 million from $420 million in 1961” (Vol. 3:6 pl2). Among cost-sa^^ng procedures: Management staff was trimmed 15%, over-all domestic emplo5rment reduced to 22,000 from 27,000 before merger. Some 30 executives were brought in from Ford, “8 of them in the 21 top corporate posts,” Journal said, but this infusion was offset by cutting about 60 executives from old Philco management. How much more than original $100 million purchase price, in common stock. Ford has invested in Philco is still well-guarded secret, but. Journal noted : “Ford has retired some $23 million of Philco debt and assumed liability for an insurance company note of $21 million. It’s also providing some of the capital for a 140% boost in capital spending to more than $12 million a year (Vol. 3:4 pll). More cash, too, is going into product development.” Journal summarized: “Besides showing new aggressiveness in both consumer & industrial markets, Philco is rapidly becoming a mirror image of the organization & operating policies of its successful parent. More important, the streamlining already is showing substantial evidence of reversing Philco’s waning fortunes.” * * >K Philco & Pres. Charles E. Beck also were analyzed by Mar. 1 Time, which noted that “marriage of Ford money & management to Philco’s scientific knowledge has given once-faltering Philco new strength.” World War II B-29 pilot Beck “makes all day-to-day decisions on his own, deferring to Detroit only on major policy matters,” Time said, adding: “He has charted a route to bring Philco to better things within the next 5 years.” Beck’s efforts already have “produced results: manufacturing efficiency last year rose 16% in the Consumer Products Div.” Emerson Radio earnings slipped in fiscal-1963’s opening quarter, ended Feb. 3, to “about 20d a share” from 30d a year earlier. Sales also declined. Pres. Benjamin Abrams told annual meeting that factor in sag was sale last Nov. (Vol. 2:47 pll) of 86%-owned Emertron subsidiary to Litton Industries. He forecast that increased TV & phonograph volume would compensate for loss of Emertron revenue, noted that Emerson TV production is running far ahead of a year ago. Some 70% of production is in portables & table models. Combinations, he said, account for 5% of sales but contribute 15-18% of TV dollar volume. Abrams said Emerson will initiate production of its own color TVs in Aug., expressed “high hopes for the tape recorder business.” Emerson sales of Telectro recorders accounted for “about 10% ” of industry’s 1962 sales of 600,000 units, Abrams noted. He said Emerson probably will exercise its option to buy control of Telectro Industries. Sylvania is producing new line of RF amplifier tubes, with strap frame grid construction, for TV vhf tuners.