LEXINGTON: Printer maker Lexmark International Inc. on Monday reported a 14
per cent drop in third-quarter earnings and said it would take a $35 million-$45
million charge in the fourth quarter for a restructuring plan which will cut 900
jobs.
The company said the charge, mainly to cover the move of its laser printer
manufacturing to Latin America and Asia, will translate into a charge of 19
cents to 24 cents a share in the fourth quarter. The company expects the
restructuring to save about $100 million by 2002. Lexmark's total work force was
not immediately known.
For the third quarter, the company said it earned $66.1 million, or 50 cents
a share, compared with $76.5 million, or 56 cents a share in the year-ago
period. The results were at the top of the earning-per-share range it announced
in September when the company lowered its earnings outlook. According to First
Call/Thomson Financial, analysts had expected the company to earn 47 cents a
share.
Revenue rose 10 per cent to $927 million, compared with $845 million the
prior year. Without the negative impact of foreign currency translation, revenue
growth would have been 15 per cent over last year’s, the company said.
The company said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to be about 10 to 15 per
cent above the same period last year, with diluted earnings per share between 55
and 65 cents, before the nonrecurring restructuring-related charges. The company
said it believes its core printer hardware and supplies will lead to 15 to 20
per cent earnings per share growth in 2001.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.