By Eve Fan
Xerox Corp. reported its first quarterly loss since 2010 and a worse drop in revenue than had been expected, sending shares down 9 percent on Tuesday.
Xerox CEO Ursula Burn also said in a statement late Monday that the company has authorized a “comprehensive review of structural options” for the company as it struggles with declining revenue for its traditional copier and printing machines.
“We are reviewing structural options for the company’s business portfolio and capital allocation with the goal of enhancing shareholder value,” Burns said.
The Norwalk, Connecticut-based company is in the midst of transforming to a business service and document management company as many workplaces are printing fewer paper documents in favor of digital solutions.
“A break-up of the firm could be on the table, but we don’t think Xerox improves its competitive position if it were to simply split into two,” Peter Wahlstrom, analyst at Morningstar Inc., wrote in a research note.
Xerox reported late Monday that it lost $34 million, or 4 cents per diluted share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $266 million, or 21 cents per diluted share, in the same quarter a year ago.
Revenue dropped to $4.33 billion, down 9.6 percent from $4.76 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, missing Zacks’ analysts consensus estimate of $4.54 billion.
Earlier this month, the company announced it would take an after-tax charge of approximately $240 million in the quarter as it decided not to complete its money-losing Health Enterprise Medicaid platform in California and Montana.
Adjusting for the charge, earnings in the quarter were 24 cents per share, beating Bloomberg LP‘s analysts consensus earnings estimate by 1 cent.
Document technology revenue fell by 9 percent, which contributed about one-third of the overall revenue decline, excluding the impact of the strong U.S. dollar, according to Chief Financial Officer Kathy Mikells during a conference call with analysts.
Mikells announced earlier this month that she is leaving Xerox for a chief financial officer position at the British multinational beverage company Diageo PLC.
The stock price, which fell 9 percent on Tuesday, rose 3 cents to $9.33 in afternoon trading Wednesday.
