Federal-Mogul reports $1.6 billion loss for 2002 on accounting change charge

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (Feb. 13)—Federal-Mogul Corp., which has operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since October 2001, reported a net loss for 2002 of $1.63 billion after a $1.42 billion charge for a cumulative effect of change in accounting. Sales for the year decreased less than 1 percent to $5.4 billion. Full-year original equipment sales in the sealing systems and systems protection groups increased 1.4 percent to $639 million because of the effect of foreign currency movements. For the fourth quarter, the seal maker reported a net loss of $113 million on sales that remained relatively flat at $1.29 billion. During the last quarter of 2001, Federal-Mogul posted a $112 million loss.