WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Information technology company Unisys Corp. (UIS) reported Thursday a profit for the fourth quarter that nearly halved from last year, reflecting significantly lower margins and a revenue decline.
'Our U.S. & Canada team, particularly our US Federal group, posted strong growth in the quarter, balancing weakness in some global markets,' President and CEO Peter Altabef said in a statement.
Altabef took over as the new CEO on January 1 after Ed Coleman resigned from his positions of chairman and CEO, effective December 1, 2014, after serving in the positions since October 2008.
The Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based company reported net income of $61.8 million or $1.24 per share for the third quarter, sharply lower than $117.4 million or $2.37 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Results for the latest quarter include $18.1 million of pension expense.
Excluding pension expense, adjusted net income for the quarter was $79.9 million or $1.60 per share, compared to $144.7 million or $2.82 per share in the year-ago quarter.
On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.27 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Revenues for the quarter decreased 9 percent to $905.8 million from $995.90 million in the same quarter last year. Wall Street analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $889.90 million for the quarter.
The company noted that foreign currency translations had a three percentage-points negative impact on revenue.
U.S. and Canada revenues increased 6 percent from last year, while international revenue declined 11 percent or 14 percent on a constant currency basis, as growth in Latin America was offset by revenue declines in EMEA and Asia-Pacific.
Services revenue decreased 11 percent year-over-year to $720.9 million, reflecting declines in outsourcing, systems integration, and infrastructure services. Services backlog at December 31, 2014 was $4.8 billion, unchanged from the December 31, 2013 levels. Meanwhile, technology revenue edged up 1 percent to $184.9 million from last year.
Operating margin for the quarter contracted 660 basis points to 9.1 percent from last year's 15.7 percent, as gross margin declined 370 basis points from last year.
UIS closed Thursday's regular trading session at $25.28, down $0.31 or 1.21% on a volume of 1.14 million shares. The stock slipped a further $0.69 or 2.73% in extended hours trading.
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