Wall Street analysts had been expecting a loss of $17 million, or 14 cents a share, before charges.

Earnings before charges and taxes rose to $120 million from $31.5 million.

Profits, before tax and charges, will be between $3.4bn and $3.6bn, the company said.

Before various charges, there was operating income of $391.1 million, compared with $531.2 million in 2003.

Rather than earning $1.89 to $1.94 a share before special charges, the company now expects to earn $1.80 to $1.85.

A year earlier, pretax profit was L144 million before charges.

But in the interview he said "we will be black" before such charges.

"Does it happen every day that the defense presents its evidence before charges are filed?"

New management helped spur growth and restore profits before special charges.

The company said that income before extraordinary charges was down 21.6 percent, to $374.7 million, compared with $477.9 million for 1990.