Union Carbide Reports

Higher Earnings

 DANBURY (AP) — Second-quarter earnings at chemical giant Union Carbide Corp. doubled, helped by strong performances by its equity companies and its chemical and polymers segment.

Net income was $130 million, or 94 cents per share, compared with $63 million, or 46 cents per share, in the same period a year ago, the company said Monday.

The results included an $11 million after-tax gain from the demutualization of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., which provides certain employee benefit programs for the company. Excluding that gain, Union Carbide earned 86 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 85 cents per share.

Sales in the second quarter totaled $1.67 billion, compared to $1.42 billion in last year’s second quarter.

Net income for the first six months of the year was $227 million, or $1.65 per share, compared with $120 million, or 88 cents per share, including the cumulative effect of an accounting change in the year-ago period.

Net sales for the six-month period were $3.29 billion, up from $2.82 billion in the same period last year.

On Monday, shares of Union Carbide rose 62.5 cents to close at $44.813 on the New York Stock Exchange.