Very interesting. Will we see the stock appreciate from where it is because of this correction?
CORRECTED - Unisys Q3 profit tops
consensus
In BLUE BELL story headlined ``Unisys Q3 profit tops consensus, but
revenue light,' pls read in second graph ... grew to $137 million....
(Inserts million.)
Also, read in fifth graph ... in the 4 percent range, after taking account of negative currency
effects, through the remainder of 1999 ... instead of ... in the 4 percent range...for at least the next
two quarters. (Corrects time range.)
A corrected version follows:
BLUE BELL, Pa., Oct 14 (Reuters) - Computer services supplier Unisys Corp. (NYSE:UIS -
news) on Thursday posted better-than- expected profits in the third-quarter due to continued
financial restructuring moves but revenue growth was slight.
Net income, after payment of preferred dividends, grew to $137 million, or 43 cents per diluted
share, compared with $67 million, or 25 cents a diluted share in the year ago-quarter. The latest
quarter had a tax benefit $22 million, or 7 cents a share, offset by a charge of $12 million, or 4
cents a share, for buying back high-interest debt.
Excluding these one-time items, third-quarter earnings per share rose 60 percent to 40 cents per
common share. Analysts had forecast a third-quarter earnings consensus of 36 cents per share
ahead of the Unisys report, according to brokers surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial.
Revenue grew 4 percent to $1.87 billion from $1.79 billion in the year-ago quarter due to
weakness in some computer services businesses. Without the negative effect of translating
foreign currencies into U.S. dollars, revenue would have grown 7 percent. By contast,
second-quarter revenue grew 12 percent, or 9 percent, including the effect of currency
translation.
Looking ahead, Unisys warned revenue growth would remain in the 4 percent range, after taking
account of negative currency effects, through the remainder of 1999 as the company seeks to
restructure its sluggish network and Windows NT services units. It also cited the year-end effect
of a last-minute focus by customers on fixing year 2000 software glitches for that softness.
The company said, however, it was comfortable with a fourth-quarter earnings target of 46 cents
per share compared with 42 cents in the year ago fourth-quarter.
Ahead of the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange, Unisys shares stood at 42-1/4 after
falling 7/8 on Wednesday. |
