Union Carbide Loses $63 Million

Union Carbide Corp. said it lost $63 million in the fourth quarter, blaming additional costs for a restructuring and the planned spinoff of its industrial gases business.

Fourth-quarter results included a $70-million pretax charge to cover severance pay and plant consolidation costs associated with the restructuring, aimed at slashing operating costs by $400 million a year by 1994.

The results also included a $13-million pretax charge to cover additional costs from the sale of part of the company’s Unison Transformer Services business.

The loss amounted to 49 cents a share on revenue of $1.15 billion, compared to net income of $7 million, or 5 cents a share, on revenue of $1.3 billion for the same period a year ago.

For the year, Danbury, Conn.-based Carbide posted a loss of $28 million, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $4.9 billion, compared to income of $308 million, or $2.19 a share, on sales of $5.2 billion in 1990.

Year-end results included a total of $220 million in pretax charges, mainly associated with the restructuring. About $150 million of the special charges were taken in the third quarter.