WXXI Local Stories
(2009-10-22)
Chief Executive Officer Ursula Burns says that reflects a worldwide slow down in spending on office equipment.
"What we are seeing is people taking a very cautious approach to adding new technology on a global basis," said Burns. "There is weakness everywhere."
Despite the significant drop in profits, the company beat Wall Street expectations. Xerox reported a profit of 14-cents per share, when analysts had expected it to be 10- to 12-cents per share.
Burns says the company expects sluggish sales to continue for the remainder of the year, but she says the company is poised to take advantage of an uptick in the economy.
The company's chief financial officer, Larry Zimmerman, says Xerox will continue to pump up profits by trimming costs.
"We're still going to be very conservative on the cost and expense side, and drive more costs and expenses out of the business to buffer anything that might happen to the revenue, to make sure we can deliver on everything in this package," Zimmerman said.
The company revised its expectations for the full year, looking to earn 55- to 57-cents per share which is up from the company's prior expectations of 50- to 55-cents per share.
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