AEROSPACE

McDonnell Douglas Posts Big Loss: Citing a previously announced $450-million pretax charge related to its troubled C-17 cargo plane project, the company said it posted a $132-million loss for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, contrasted with a profit of $762 million a year earlier. But excluding that charge and other onetime items, McDonnell’s operating earnings jumped to $143 million, or $3.63 a share, from $86 million, despite a 21% drop in revenue to $3.63 billion, from $4.62 billion. For all of 1993, the St. Louis-based aerospace giant earned $396 million, contrasted with a $781-million loss the prior year, which mainly stemmed from a change in McDonnell’s accounting for retiree health care. McDonnell’s annual revenue dropped 17% to $14.5 billion, from $17.4 billion.