From Detroit Free Press

SOUTHFIELD, MI -- Federal-Mogul Corp. reported a loss of $48.3 million, or 54 cents a share, for the quarter ending March 31. That compares with a loss of $20.4 million, or 23 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

The company said its first-quarter revenue was $1.63 billion, compared with $1.55 billion in the year-ago period.

The Southfield, Mich.-based auto supplier also said rising costs of raw materials for the first three months of the year resulted in a $21-million decline in gross margins for the quarter.

On Wednesday, Federal-Mogul stock fell 2 cents to close at 57 cents a share in over-the-counter bulletin board trading.

Federal-Mogul has been in a financial straitjacket for the last five years.

The company, which hasn't posted an annual profit since 1999, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2001.

It inherited hundreds of thousands of asbestos exposure claims through a company it acquired in the late 1990s.

The maker of automotive components, subsystems and modules has not said when it plans to emerge from bankruptcy.

In February, the court presiding over the bankruptcy allowed it to name Jose Maria Alapont president and CEO.

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