Xerox predicts earnings will be off
Hurricane Katrina-related
losses, damages paid out in a legal case and accounting changes will
shave 12 cents a share off Xerox Corp.’s third-quarter earnings, the
company said today.
Analysts polled by Thomson First Call are predicting Xerox earnings of
16 cents to 19 cents a share. The company is slated to report earnings
Oct. 21.
Legal costs account for most of Xerox’s earnings drag. A previously
announced $89 million payout in a Canadian patent-related arbitration
and $18 million in other unspecified legal damages would total $107
million in pre-tax costs and $79 million in after-tax expenses, the
company said.
Xerox says it has so far tallied $15 million in Katrina-related costs,
but is still counting its losses. After taxes, Katrina would shave $9
million off earnings in the third quarter, the company said.