Avco Financial Reports 1st-Quarter Profit Drop

Avco Financial Services Inc. said net earnings from continuing operations during the first quarter fell 18% to $23.2 million from $28.3 million a year earlier. The Irvine-based subsidiary of Textron Inc. said the earnings decline was due primarily to underwriting losses in its insurance operations.

During the first quarter, Avco had an extraordinary gain of $4.6 million from the sale of a Japanese subsidiary that brought its net earnings to $27.8 million. During the like quarter last year, Avco had a $22-million one-time loss that resulted in net earnings of $6.3 million.