Combustion Engineering Inc saidit expects first quarter earnings to be 20 to 25 pct below the
year-ago 13.6 mln dlrs, mainly due to financing costs resulting
from the January 1987 acquisition of AccuRay Corp.
    The company said it has filed for an offering of four mln
common shares and 150 mln dlrs of subordinated debentures due
2017, with proceeds to be used to refinance the short-term bank
debt incurred for the AccuRay acquisition, to finance other
costs of the transaction and for general corporate purposes.
    Combustion said 3,500,000 shares will be sold in the U.S.
and the remainder overseas.
    Combustion paid about 218 mln dlrs for AccuRay, a maker of
computer-based measurement and control systems used in pulp and
paper mills.
    The company said it expects to release first quarter
results in the third week in April.
    Combustion said it expects further restructuring of core
businesses -- particularly Lummus Crest -- this year through
staff reductions downsizings and the consolidation of
facilities.
    Combustion said the restructuring at Lummus Crest is
expected to substantially reduce but not eliminate this year
losses in the Engineering and Construction segment.
    But it said improvement at Lummus Crest is expected to be
approximately offset by a number of factors, including a
somewhat lower level of earnings in the Power Generation
segment than in 1986, financing costs of the AccuRay
acquisition, costs associated with integrating AccuRay
technology and operations and delays in waste to energy
projects.
 Reuter
