International Paper Earnings Up

Tuesday, July 11th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” International Paper said Tuesday that its earnings rose strongly in the second quarter and projected further growth this year because of its acquisition in June of Champion International.

The Purchase-based company said net income totaled $270 million, or 64 cents a share, compared with a loss in the second quarter of 1999 of $71 million, or 17 cents a share.

Excluding charges, earnings were $315 million, or 75 cents a share, in the April-June quarter, a penny higher than the 74 cents predicted by analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. A year earlier, earnings excluding charges and special items were $99 million, or 24 cents a share.

Sales in the three months ended June 30 were $6.78 billion, up 13 percent from $6 billion a year earlier.

In afternoon trading, shares rose $2.438 to $34.375 on the New York Stock Exchange.

John Dillon, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement accompanying the results that the company was on its way to achieving profit-improvement goals announced in June 1999.

He said International Paper was ``even more optimistic'' about its performance since the acquisition of Champion International. ``It strengthens both our uncoated and coated papers businesses, gives us a great deal of flexibility in our U.S. manufacturing system and provides significant cost-reduction opportunities,'' he said.

Net income for the first six months of the year was $648 million, or $1.55 a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $39 million, or 9 cents a share. Sales for the first half were $13.15 billion, up 9 percent from $12.03 billion in 1999.