Estate agents are cautious about taking the profit rise as a sign the slump in house sales is over.

Much of the profit rise was attributable directly to high oil prices, which averaged $66 last year, $10 higher than in 2005, according to Citigroup.

Shareholders skidded right past the profit rise, focused on the sales drop and spent the day dumping Kodak stock.

Industrial production is strong and many corporations are reporting profit rises of more than 50 percent.

As noted, this K can change if the rate of profit rises.

The department said the fourth quarter's 6.1 percent profit rise would have been a slightly stronger 6.3 percent without the added tax burden.

Most analysts had been forecasting a profit rise.

The company said sales so far this year are up by 16 p.c. and it is forecasting a further profit rise in 1992.

And Hewlett-Packard, which reported a second-quarter profit rise of 66 percent yesterday, increased 4 5/8, to 82 1/2.

The 1989 first quarter showed a net profit rise of 19.4 percent on a sales gain of 11.6 percent.