Earnings roundup: Frontier Oil, NCR

HOUSTON (AP) -Frontier Oil Corp. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit fell as rising crude prices squeezed refining margins and the oil refiner took one of its facilities off-line for maintenance. A large inventory gain helped keep the company from posting a loss.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -Cash-machine maker NCR Corp. said Wednesday that its first-quarter earnings increased 41 percent, riding a robust growth rate in sales to banks and retailers and the sale of a manufacturing plant in Canada.

HOUSTON (AP) -Oilfield services and equipment provider Allis-Chalmers Energy Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter earnings fell 34 percent, mostly because of lower sales from equipment rentals, but still beat Wall Street's expectations.

PARIS (AP) -Alstom SA's profit rose 56 percent for the past fiscal year but some of the glow was lost as company head Patrick Kron acknowledged the company was cooperating with probes into "old affairs" that predated his appointment at the helm of the French engineering giant.

GERMANTOWN, Md. (AP) -Broadband satellite company Hughes Communications Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit fell 77 percent on higher costs.

JASPER, Ind. (AP) -Electronics and furniture manufacturer Kimball International Inc. said Wednesday it swung to a third-quarter loss on higher costs.