EARNINGS: G. M. Reports

In its annual report last week, General Motors showed the drastic effects on it of the defense program. Though 1951 sales of the world's biggest manufacturing corporation were off only 1% to $7.4 billion, G.M. reported that its net profit was down 39% to $506 million. Reasons for the drop were higher taxes plus curtailed civilian output, higher costs while car prices were frozen, and a bigger volume of lower-profit defense work. G.M., which has long been in the billion-dollar class in sales, is also in a billion-dollar class of another sort. Last year its tax bill came to $1,141,000,000.