Xerox Corporation (XRX: chart) reported before the bell Friday that it swung to a first-quarter profit from a year-earlier loss, driven by strong sales of its copiers and printers. The Stamford, Connecticut-based document management company announced net income of $224 million, or 25 cents a share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2004, a turnaround from a loss of $75 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago equivalent. Results for the first quarter of 2004 included a gain from the sell-off of its interests in digital rights management technology provider ContentGuard. Excluding extraordinary items, the company turned in a profit of 17 cents a share, up from 15 cents a share, last year, and 2 cents a share ahead of the consensus estimate of analysts. For the quarter ended March 31, Xerox said total revenue inched up 2% to $3.82 billion from $3.75 billion, in the first quarter of fiscal 2003, aided by the weak dollar. Gross profit margin fell to 39.8% from 41.9%, hurt by a high proportion of sales of lower-cost desktop office and light-production equipment.

Xerox shares plunged 8.54% to $13.18 at market close Friday. The stock dropped 3 cents to $13.15 in after-hours trading.

AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. (AWE: chart) posted before market open Friday a loss of $58 million, or 2 cents a share, for its fiscal first quarter, in contrast to a profit of $135 million, or 5 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts were looking for a profit of 1 cent a share, on average. The mobile phone service provider cited high customer turnover and pricing pressure as main factors for the loss. Redmond, Washington-based AT&T Wireless said it lost 367,000 subscribers in the quarter. First-quarter revenue rose to $4.08 billion from $3.95 billion, a year ago.

The stock gained 6 cents on Friday to $14.00. Company shares slipped 0.29% to $13.96 in after-market trade.

ArvinMeritor, Inc. (ARM: chart) of Troy, Michigan, announced Friday a 71% jump in its quarterly earnings, boosted by improving demand for commercial truck parts and a gain from the sale of a joint venture stake. The auto-parts maker reported a second-quarter net profit of $41 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with a net profit of $24 million, or 36 cents a share, in the 2003 comparable period. Earnings before items came in at 44 cents a share, 2 cents a share above Wall Street’s average forecast. Quarterly sales advanced to $2.25 billion from $2 billion, last year.

ArvinMeritor shares closed Friday at $21.31, down 16 cents, or 0.75%.

Fortune Brands, Inc. (FO: chart) said Friday that its first-quarter net income surged 40% to $139.7 million, or 92 cents a share, from $99.5 million, or 66 cents a share, generated in the 2003 corresponding period. The Lincolnshire, Illinois-based consumer products company reported sales of $1.71 billion in the quarter, a 23% rise from $1.39 billion, in the same quarter a year ago. Fortune Brands said strong demand, favorable currency-exchange rates and acquisitions helped boost its profits.

The stock rose 2.67% to $78.70 at market close Friday.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (ERICY: chart) announced Friday that it reversed course to a profit in its first quarter, citing cost-cutting initiatives and increased investment by mobile phone operators. The Sweden-based world's top supplier of wireless telecom infrastructure equipment rolled out a profit of 3 billion kronor ($390 million) for the first quarter, rebounding from a year-earlier loss of 4.3 billion kronor. Sales increased 9% to 28.1 billion kronor ($3.7 billion).

Company shares plummeted 8.56% to close Friday at $29.49. The stock inched up 2 cents to $29.51 in after-hours trading.

International Paper Company (IP: chart) of Stamford, Connecticut, on Friday turned in first-quarter earnings of $73 million, or 15 cents per share, a 66% jump from earnings of $44 million, or 9 cents per share, in the comparable period of 2003. Results of the world’s No.1 paper company topped the mean analysts’ estimate by 1 cent a share. IP attributed the improvement to stronger sales and higher prices for its products.

IP shares gained 18 cents to $43.20 at market close Friday.

Weyerhaeuser Company (WY: chart) reported Friday that it returned to profitability in its first quarter, helped by growth in housing construction. The Federal Way, Washington-based lumber producer rolled out first-quarter net income of $121 million, or 54 cents a share, reversing from a year-ago loss of $54 million, or 24 cents a share. Excluding items, earnings were 62 cents a share, gliding past analysts’ forecast of 56 cents a share, on average.

The stock slid 1.78% on Friday to $66.59.

Schlumberger Limited (SLB: chart), the New York-based oil-field services company, posted before the bell Friday a 48% increase in its quarterly profits, due to strong activity in Canada, India, Indonesia, West Africa and the United States. The company said it earned $220.3 million, or 37 cents a share, in its first quarter, compared with net income of $149.2 million, or 26 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, Schlumberger reported a profit of 47 cents a share for the first quarter, in line with Wall Street’s projections. Total revenue improved 13% to $3.04 billion from $2.68 billion, a year earlier.

Company shares closed Friday unchanged at $61.70.