Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

10 Financial & Trade Notes: “Our business is proceed ing on a much more even basis than was the case a year ago when the urgent buying of the first quarter was succeeded by a marked lull for several months as distributors and dealers balanced their inventories,” said Philco president Wm. Balderston in reporting first quarter sales of $84,239,000, higher than any similar period except 1951. First quarter earnings were $2,341,000 ( 64c1 a share) after $3,404,000 taxes. Sales in last year’s first quarter were $113,524,000, earnings $3,521,000 (97tf) after $10, 375.000 taxes. Mr. Balderston predicted further stimulation for Philco business during the year because of its sponsorship of national political conventions on NBC-TV and radio. He also hailed lifting of FCC’s freeze and of Regulation W as potential aids to TV sales. Philco’s position in transistor development was stressed. “We are greatly expanding our transistor program in both the military and commercial fields,” said Mr. Balderston. “Philco has been selected by the Govt, to carry out an important part of the urgent military program for research and development of transistors and the transistorizing of military equipment . . . Over the next several years, the pioneering that we are doing in transistors should add substantially to our total volume of business and at the same time increase the usefulness and value of the px-oducts we are already manufacturing.” * * * * TV-radio manufacturers’ profits in first quarter were 40.1% lower than same period last year, according to Wall Street Journal tabulation of earnings of 687 important corporations. Over-all decline for all -firms was 8.2%. Six unnamed TV-radio corporations were used in the tabulation. Last week, New York Journal of Commerce, in similar survey, reported profits of 14 “electrical equipment & TV” manufacturers dropped 19.9% in same period (Vol. 8:19). Only categories showing greater decline than TV-radio in Wall Street Journal survey were airlines, which fell from $3,000,000 profit to $400,000 loss; distillers, down 57.5%; textiles, 52.7%; floor coverings, 50.1%. Commerce Dept, reported that cash dividends by “electrical machinery” corporations (including TV-radio) totaled $55,100,000 during first quarter 1952, compared with $50,400,000 in last year’s first period, up 9%. For all manufacturing corporations, first-quarter dividends were up 6%. Albert Black Television Productions Inc. is offering 1.998.000 shares of common stock at 15 4 per share through Royal Securities Corp., New York. Firm headed by Albert Black, 1270 Sixth Ave., New York, with Michael Lippert as v.p. and Harry Lippert as sec.-treas., proposes to spend $117,000 on 13 films for TV ($9000 each) and $27,500 on securities issue “offered as a speculation,” with $80,575 going for working capital. It claims these among Mr. Black’s TV productions: City at Midnight, Tropic Holiday, All-Star Revue, Grand Opening, Touchdown, on WNBT ; Alan Dale Show, Tonite at 11, Afterhours Club, Telefinds, Bamboo, on WCBS-TV; Composers Corner, Latin Carnival, on WJZ-TV ; Hollywood Quideo, All Sports Quiz, Coni cert Debut, Play Ball, Batter Up, Fun with Music, on WPIX; Richard Hayes Show, You’re on Your Own, Dick Brown Show, on WABD. ABC earned profit in March after showing losses first 2 months of year, says company statement, with result that first quarter loss is estimated at $198,000 after reduction of $222,000 for recovery of Federal income taxes. Same period last year, net income after taxes was $222,000. Standard Coil Products Co. has terminated proposed merger agreement with General Instrument Corp. (Vol. 8:5), president Glen Swanson stating threat of govt, antitrust proceedings was reason. Electronics Reports: By I960 — more TV sets in use than there are homes wired for electricity. Dr. W. R. G. Baker, GE electronics v.p., made this forecast before Robert Morris Associates, investment banking group, in Syracuse May 14. GE research, he said, indicates 53,000,000 sets-inuse by 1960, with 7-10,000,000 homes having 2 sets. As sidelight of what he called the “electronic evolution,” Dr. Baker cited this industrial use of TV: Elimination of the man who reads the meter. Household watt-hours meters, he said, will be read electronically, transmitted automatically to electronic business machines which would make out bills and keep records. Defense Dept, placed contracts for more than $5 billion worth of electronics-communications equipment in 21 months following attack on Korea. This estimate is based on announcement that by April 1 military had obligated $54 billion for “hard goods” procurement. General rule is that electronics-communications accounts for about 10% of dollar value of all hard goods. Obligations for hard goods during first 9 months of fiscal 1952 totaled $24.2 billion, with $16.6 billion still available for obligation during remaining 3 months of fiscal year. Further easing of materials controls is probable by third quarter, NPA sources indicate. Under discussion is liberalization of third-quarter allocations of controlled materials to consumer durable goods manufacturers (Vol. 8:13). Another proposal being considered is removal of direct controls for about 90% of all aluminum users in third quarter by permitting manufacturers to write their own priority tickets for up to 40,000 lbs. in the 3-month period. Aluminum self-certification limit is now 2000 lbs. per quarter. NPA this week scrapped all controls on cadmium, lead, antimony and bismuth, and removed enduse limitations and allocation controls from zinc. ❖ ❖ * * New lightweight airborne radar “eye” produced by RCA for the Navy and Air Force can “see” for 200 miles in front of aircraft, map terrain and weather obstacles, as well as pick out airfields and runways. This new anti-collision aid is now in production, Defense Dept, announced, and is already being used in President Truman’s plane, the Independence. Developed by RCA and Houston Corp., of Los Angeles, which RCA now conti’ols, it is being produced in Los Angeles plant. Navy has also awarded contracts to produce the new radar to DuMont and Bendix (Pacific div.). Weighing 173 lbs., it is gyroscope-mounted and pressurized to operate at altitudes up to 50,000-ft. Defense Dept, says new radar, labeled AN/AFS-42, already prevented one serious Navy crash when passenger-packed transport was given erroneous directions from tower while taking off from fog-bound field. Selenium users will be allocated 100% of their requirements for month of May, NPA announced last week. But it warned that increased allotment represents only a temporary improvement in supply and is possible because one of the producers of selenium has placed an accumulated quantity of the crude metal on the market. Previous allocations with respect to monthly requirements have been: February 67%, March 77%, April 74%. Highpurity selenium is used almost entirely in rectifiers. Cobalt allocation order M-80, meanwhile, was tightened to include cobalt compounds, and to restrict production of magnet steels containing more than 20% cobalt to military and atomic energy orders. Permission to transmit NTSC color signals for 90 days was requested of FCC this week by WOR-TV, New York. Reason is that station has more “open” morning time than RCA-NBC’s WNBT, thus would give NTSC members more daytime hours in which to experiment. Signals would be fed to WOR-TV from WNBT.