Savings and Loans Report Improved Quarterly Results

H.F. Ahmanson & Co., parent of the nation’s largest savings and loan, said Wednesday its profit rose more than 40% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.

Two other large thrifts--Glendale Federal Bank and California Federal Bank--reported profits for the final three months of 1994, after losses in the same 1993 period.

Ahmanson attributed its earnings growth to asset sales and mortgage lending that helped offset its shrinking profit margins.

Ahmanson, parent of Home Savings of America, reported fourth-quarter earnings of $39.9 million, or 23 cents a share, up 40% from the previous year’s $28.5 million, or 14 cents a share.

The Irvine-based company reported annual earnings of $237.4 million, or $1.58 per share, contrasted with a net loss for 1993 of $159.6 million, or $1.69 per share.

Ahmanson’s sale of its Illinois branches and the money it earned on mortgage lending helped soften the blow of higher borrowing costs, narrower profit margins and continued losses on loans and real estate investments.