There is a nice article in WSJ about Unisys turnaround.
For folks who have access to WSJ Online, here is the link:
interactive.wsj.com
Here are some excerpts:
<<Many computer companies try to dazzle customers with new technology. Unisys Corp. tries to comfort them with the tried and true.
If that sounds like a prescription for obsolescence, consider this: Unisys has pulled off one of the most drastic revivals in the computer industry after suffering a near-death experience in the early 1990s.
Unisys has produced more than a year of gains, culminating in a first quarter in which revenue grew by 10% for the first time in five years, per-share earnings outstripped analysts' estimates by 33%, and orders for computer services were up 20%. Even after sustaining a bout of profit-taking in recent weeks, Unisys shares have nearly quintupled in the last two years, far outstripping the gains of such tech bellwethers as Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp.>>
<<Mr. Weinbach, who had left the top job at high-tech consultants Andersen Worldwide because he wanted a new career, succeeded Mr. Unruh in September 1997. In a three-month whirlwind, Mr. Weinbach, 59 years old, spoke to more than one-third of Unisys's 33,000 employees and more than 1,500 customers. He worked to lift long-battered employee spirits, resuming a company matching contribution on its 401(k) pension plan and reviving a 15% discount for stock purchases.>>
<<With Mr. Weinbach's backing, Mr. Brust is slashing costs, with plans to halve the $240 million information-technology budget by using new software, cut IT staff by 600 to 800, and reduce the number of internal mainframes to eight from 30.
Within weeks of joining, Mr. Weinbach promised Wall Street and Unisys customers that the company would reduce its debt by $1 billion over two years. And he has delivered. Unisys' long-term debt at year end was $1.11 billion, less than half the $2.27 billion at the end of 1996.
Mr. Weinbach, a slim, high-energy type who arises daily at 5 a.m. to run four miles, says he took the Unisys job because he wasn't ready for retirement after two terms as managing partner-chief executive at Andersen. Unisys had already made the decision to emphasize service as a source of growth. But, "they didn't understand the service business and they lost a lot of money," he says. "I felt right at home" straightening out services operations.>> |
