NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Citigroup said its fourth-quarter profit fell 37 percent, but beat analysts' estimates by a penny, as charges from the conflict-of-interest settlement on Wall Street and Enron related losses cut into the firm's bottom line.

Elsewhere, Ford Motor Co. posted a slight operating profit that topped Wall Street estimates by a cent due to strong performance of its credit business.

Manufacturing firm 3M reported an increase in its fourth-quarter profit on increased sales as the company's results beat analysts' estimates by a penny.

3M; Affiliated Computer Services; Alcan;

Ameritrade; A.O. Smith; ArvinMeritor;

Barr Labs; BJ Services; Burlington Northern;

Charles Schwab; Citigroup; Eaton;

Fastenal; Ford; Georgia-Pacific;

Harley-Davidson; Johnson & Johnson; Knight Ridder;

Micromuse; Northwest Airlines; Wells Fargo

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NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The world's No. 1 financial services company said its fourth-quarter profit fell 37 percent after $1.55 billion in charges to settle the stock research scandal and to cover potential loan losses and Enron-related litigation. The New York-based company, which has more than $1 trillion in assets, earned $2.43 billion, or 47 cents a share, down from $3.88 billion, or 74 cents, a year earlier.

Wall Street expected Citigroup to earn between 44 and 49 cents a share with a mean estimate of 46 cents, according to market data firm First Call. Citigroup also said it will deliver double-digit income growth this year following an 8 percent rise for 2002.

Fourth-quarter 2002 results include a previously announced $1.3 billion after-tax charge to set up reserves to cover a settlement with regulators over Citigroup's (C: Research, Estimates) stock research practices and lawsuits related to its ties to bankrupt energy trader Enron Corp. They also include a $254 million after-tax increase to loan loss reserves. (more detail)

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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- The No. 2 U.S. automaker reported improved fourth-quarter results that edged past Wall Street expectations and the company raised production targets for the first quarter.

Ford earned $150 million, or 8 cents a share, in the period excluding special items. That's an improvement from the loss of $860 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had a consensus forecast of 7 cents a share.

Revenue rose $869 million to $41.6 billion in the quarter, despite a 1 percent decline in total number of vehicles sold worldwide to 1.79 million. Ford (F: Research, Estimates) said it expects to build 1,035,000 vehicles in North America in the quarter, up 25,000 from its estimate earlier this month. (more details)

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (Reuters) -- The diversified manufacturer said its quarterly earnings rose as it cut costs and boosted sales. The company, whose products include Scotch tape and Post-it notes to sandpaper, industrial adhesives and asthma inhalers, said it had fourth-quarter net income of $511 million, or $1.29 a share, up from $381 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier. Sales increased to $4.14 billion from $3.86 billion.

Results were at the high end of 3M's (MMM: Research, Estimates) October estimate that it would earn between $1.25 and $1.30 a share. Analysts' estimates matched that range, according to market tracker Thomson First Call, with an average forecast of $1.28. (more details)

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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- The drug and consumer products firm reported improved fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday that topped Wall Street expectations for the period.

The company earned $1.4 billion, or 48 cents a share, up from $1.2 billion, or 39 cents, a year earlier excluding special items in that period. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had expected earnings of 47 cents a share. Revenue rose to a fourth-quarter record of $9.4 billion from $8.4 billion a year earlier, which beat First Call's forecast of $9.1 billion. J&J (JNJ: Research, Estimates) said the 14.3 percent revenue gain would have been only 12.8 percent with changes in the value of the dollar. (more details)

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MILWAUKEE (Reuters) -- The firm said quarterly profit rose as Americans' fascination with the famed motorcycles drove sales higher despite a sluggish U.S. economy. The maker of the heavyweight Fat Boy and Road King touring bikes said fourth-quarter net income rose to $150.9 million, or 49 cents a share, from $118.4 million, or 39 cents, a year earlier. Revenue climbed to $1.03 billion from $905.9 million.

Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson (HDI: Research, Estimates) was expected to earn 47 cents a share, with estimates ranging from 43 to 49 cents, according to a First Call survey of analysts.

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- The No. 4 U.S. banking company said its fourth-quarter profit rose as low interest rates boosted mortgage banking gains. The San Francisco-based bank earned $1.47 billion, or 86 cents a share, up from $1.33 billion, or 77 cents, a year earlier.

Wall Street expected Wells Fargo (WFC: Research, Estimates) to earn between 83 and 88 cents a share, with a mean estimate of 86 cents, according to market data firm First Call.

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MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) -- The No. 4 U.S. carrier reported a $488 million quarterly net loss, mainly because of special charges for early retirement of planes, as weak air fares continued to pressure results. Northwest posted a loss of $5.68 per share for the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $216 million, or $2.55 per share, in the year-earlier quarter, just after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Operating revenue rose 17.8 percent to $2.3 billion for the quarter from a year earlier, Northwest said. Excluding unusual items, Northwest (NWAC: Research, Estimates) lost $178 million, or $2.08 per share, for the quarter, compared with a loss of $256 million, or $3.02 per share, a year earlier. Analysts' mean estimate for Northwest, which excludes the special charges, was a loss of $2.14 per share for the quarter according to Thomson First Call.

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OMAHA, Neb. (Reuters) -- The online brokerage said its quarterly earnings rose on a jump in commission revenue. Ameritrade (AMTD: Research, Estimates) reported net income of $22.0 million, or 5 cents a share, for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31. That was up from $9.0 million, or 4 cents a share, a year earlier. On average, analysts expected the company to earn 4 cents a share, according to market research company First Call.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The publisher, whose newspapers include the San Jose Mercury News and the Miami Herald, said its fourth-quarter earnings had increased as the company emerged from the advertising slump that has bedeviled it for more than a year.

Knight Ridder's (KRI: Research, Estimates) net profit rose to $96.6 million, or $1.16 per share, from $75.0 million, or 88 cents , a year earlier. Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.14 per share, with estimates ranging from $1.12 to $1.16, according to research firm First Call. The company said the current First Call view for a profit of $3.84 a share for 2003 is achievable.

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ATLANTA (Reuters) -- The maker of Brawny paper towels and Dixie paper cups said its fourth-quarter net loss widened from a year ago as it struggles with slack demand for its products, higher costs and hefty asbestos liabilities. The company, based in Atlanta, reported a net loss of $234 million, or 94 cents per share, compared with a loss of $187 million, or 81 cents, a year ago.

Excluding a previously-announced $315 million charge to cover asbestos liability as well as other one-time items, the company's earning per share were breakeven. On that basis, Wall Street analysts had expected Georgia-Pacific (GP: Research, Estimates) to report earnings of between breakeven and a penny a share with an average view of breakeven, according to research firm Multex.

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- The top discount brokerage said its fourth-quarter profit excluding one-time items dropped 21 percent, underscoring weakness in customer stock trading activity. The San Francisco-based company, which has 8 million customers, reported an operating profit of $86 million, or 7 cents per share, for the fourth-quarter. That was down from $109 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue dipped slightly to $996 million from $1.06 billion.

Analysts had been expecting 7-to-10 cents per share, with an average forecast of 8 cents, according to research firm First Call. Including one-time costs and other items, Schwab (SCH: Research, Estimates) reported a net loss of $79 million, or 6 cents per share. That compared with a net loss of $13 million, or a penny per share, a year earlier. Work force reductions as part of a broad retrenchment hurt the bottom line in both periods.

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FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) -- The No. 2 U.S. railroad reported a drop in quarterly profit caused by weak coal and other shipments. The Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad, with lines covering the western United States, said fourth-quarter profit was 54 cents a share, down from 57 cents a share before extraordinary costs a year earlier. Wall Street had expected Burlington (BNI: Research, Estimates) to earn between 45 and 54 cents a share, with a mean forecast of 52 cents, according to 10 analysts surveyed by First Call.

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POMONA, N.Y. (Reuters) -- The generic drugmaker said its quarterly earnings rose only slightly as stiff competition for its generic form of antidepressant Prozac offset favorable comparisons from a year earlier, when it took a big charge. The company reported a profit of $42.7 million, or 94 cents per share, for the second quarter ended on Dec. 31, compared with $42.1 million, or 91 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding a charge for an acquisition, Barr (BRL: Research, Estimates) earned $1.40 per share in the year-ago quarter.

The company last week raised its earnings outlook for the quarter to between 92 cents and 94 cents per share, up from a previous view of 82 cents to 87 cents.

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CLEVELAND (Reuters) -- The diversified industrial products manufacturer said its quarterly earnings rose as strong domestic vehicle demand drove higher results in its automotive business. Eaton (ETN: Research, Estimates), a maker of fluid power systems, vehicle components and industrial controls, said its fourth-quarter income before items rose to $69 million, or 98 cents a share, from $47 million, or 65 cents, the year before. Revenue rose to $1.78 billion from $1.70 billion.

Cleveland-based Eaton was expected to earn 92 cents a share on average, within a range of 82 to 95 cents, according to a First Call survey of analysts. In October, the company said it expected fourth-quarter income before items of 90 cents to $1.00 a share.

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MONTREAL (Reuters) -- Fourth-quarter profit rose at the world's second-largest aluminum maker on slightly better metal prices and higher shipments. Alcan, which owns some 18 percent of global aluminum refining capacity, said it earned $124 million, or 38 cents a share, up from $74 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier.

Including nonrecurring items and foreign currency balance sheet translation, Alcan earned $26 million, or 8 cents a share, in the quarter versus a loss of $356 million, or $1.11 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $3.2 billion from $3.04 billion. Profit estimates of 16 analysts polled by First Call ranged from 38 to 53 cents a share, with a mean of 44 cents for the quarter. In October, Alcan (AL: Research, Estimates) had forecast fourth-quarter profit of 35 to 45 cents a share.

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HOUSTON (Reuters) -- The oilfield services firm said profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 fell by half from a year earlier. BJ (BJS: Research, Estimates) reported first-quarter net income of $33.5 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with net income of $66.9 million, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier.

The results were below the Thomson First Call consensus estimate of 22 cents per share.

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TROY, Mich. (Reuters) -- The automotive parts maker said its quarterly profit rose, helped by cost cuts and strong domestic vehicle production. The company, which makes suspension systems and other products for cars and commercial trucks, said first-quarter net income rose to $32 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $31 million, or 47 cents, after a charge. Sales rose to $1.71 billion from $1.57 billion.

ArvinMeritor (ARM: Research, Estimates) was expected to earn 47 cents a share on average, within a range of 43 cents to 50 cents, according to a Thomson First Call survey of analysts. The Troy, Mich.-based company also reiterated its November forecast that it would earn $2.50-to-$2.70 a share in 2003.

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MILWAUKEE (Reuters) -- The electric motor manufacturer said it earned $11.2 million, or 38 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, reversing a year-earlier loss of $5.1 million, or 21 cents a share. In the 2001 quarter the company took a restructuring charge of $6.1 million, or 25 cents a share. Sales rose to $358.5 million from $255.5 million. A.O. Smith (AOS: Research, Estimates) was expected to earn 34 cents a share, with estimates ranging from 33 to 34 cents, according to a survey of four analysts by Thomson First Call.

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DALLAS, Texas. (Reuters) -- The computer services firm said its quarterly profit jumped 33 percent as corporations farmed out their billing, human resources and other day-to-day business operations despite the tough economy. ACS said its profit for its fiscal second quarter rose to $74 million, or 53 cents a share, from $55.6 million, or 42 cents, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 24 percent to $929 million from $750 million a year ago.

Earnings were in line with the forecast ACS (ACS: Research, Estimates) issued in October when it said it expected revenues of $900 million to $920 million and per share earnings of 53 cents.

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- The software firm posted a fiscal first-quarter net loss, reversing a year-ago profit as revenue slid 32 percent due to a prolonged slowdown in technology spending. The San Francisco-based maker of network monitoring software had a net loss of $7.3 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a profit of $615,000 million, or 1 cent a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue slid 32.2 percent to $27.1 million from $40 million a year ago. Excluding restructuring costs, purchased in-process research and development, and the amortization of intangible assets, Micromuse (MUSE: Research, Estimates) had a loss of $2.3 million or 3 cents per share. Analysts, on average, had expected the company to post a 7 cent per share loss, excluding items, on that basis, according to Wall Street tracking firm Thomson First Call.

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WINONA, Minn. (Reuters) -- The nuts and bolts distributor said Tuesday its earnings rose as it opened more outlets. Fastenal's (FAST: Research, Estimates) net earnings rose to $16.9 million, or 22 cents a share, from $13.4 million, or 18 cents a shares, a year ago. Sales increased to $219.3 million from $198.1 million.