Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 21, 1993 TAG: 9304210069
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Short
The loss exceeded most analysts' estimates. It amounted to 50 cents per share, compared with a profit of $642 million, or $1.12 per share, a year earlier before special accounting charges.
Revenues fell to $13.1 billion from $14 billion in the first three months of 1992.
IBM said revenues fell slightly in the United States and Asia while tumbling 13.8 percent in Europe. IBM derives nearly two-thirds of its revenue from overseas.
In his first public statement since taking over the computer giant April 1, IBM's chairman and chief executive, Louis V. Gerstner Jr., conceded that IBM continues to struggle in its core product areas.
"These results reflect weak demand and continued competitive pressures in many of our hardware lines, particularly mainframe computers and large disk drives," Gerstner said. But he said demand for personal computers was strong and operating expenses were being reduced.
IBM has cut about 80,000 jobs in the past three years and plans to eliminate more than 25,000 this year. The reductions have been achieved through voluntary buyouts and some layoffs.
The job-reduction programs caused IBM to take more than $11 billion in accounting charges last year, which largely caused an annual loss of nearly $5 billion. It was IBM's second straight annual loss.
by CNB