Goodyear Has $38-Million Loss

AKRON, Ohio — Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. today reported a 21% drop in fourth-quarter earnings and a loss of $38.3 million for the year.

The company cited continued weakness in the economy, reduced auto production and only modest increases in replacement demand as factors in the fourth-quarter figures.

The company posted a net income of $11.6 million, or 20 cents per share, for the period ended Dec. 31 compared with $14.7 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier.

Fourth-quarter sales edged up 2.6% to $2.81 billion from $2.74 billion a year earlier. For all of 1990, Goodyear’s loss amounted to 66 cents per share, compared with net income of $206.8 million, or $3.58 per share, in 1989.