Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Complaints against officer keep coming
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Region makes way for latest batch of snow; cancellations rise
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Law, Love and Chocolate
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
OFCCP Report
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
Green-based company says it plans to cut 300 jobs. Shares close down 4.2 percent
By Jim Mackinnon
Beacon Journal business writer
POSTED: 08:34 p.m. EDT, May 05, 2009
Shares in Green-based Diebold Inc. plunged today after the maker of automated teller machines released first quarter earnings and lowered its outlook for the remainder of the year.
The company said it plans to cut 300 jobs as it accelerates a cost-cutting program.
Declining demand in the United States and Eastern Europe caused much of the first quarter decline and the reduced outlook, executives said in a conference call with analysts.
Shares today closed down 4.2 percent, or $1.14, to $25.85, after falling more than 13 percent in trading earlier in the day. Shares are down 7 percent since Jan. 1, including reinvested dividends. Shares are down 33.3 percent from a year ago.
''As the quarter progressed, the earlier weakness in orders that we had experienced in Eastern Europe, Russia and the regional bank segment of the United States became more precipitous,'' Chief Executive Officer Thomas Swidarski said in a prepared statement. ''This market weakness, which occurred in some of our most profitable business sectors, has forced us to reduce our revenue and earnings expectations for the full year 2009.''
Diebold is ''seeing severe economic weakness in Russia and Eastern Europe,'' Swidarski said. ''The sustained drop in oil prices have significantly impacted the Russian economy.''
As a result, Diebold has ''really taken Russia off the table for the remainder of the year,'' he said.
Swidarski said he was pleased with the first quarter results, saying they exceeded internal expectations.
Leslie Pierce, Diebold's controller and acting chief financial officer, said there has been a ''dramatic weakening in demand from some of our most profitable markets.''
Diebold said it now expects a profit, excluding some items, of $1.70 to $2 a share. Diebold previously estimated it would make $2.10 to $2.40 this year.
Revenue might fall as much as 13 percent, more than an earlier estimate for a decline of as much as 10 percent, the company said.
The expected 300 job cuts will be accomplished through hiring restrictions, attrition and job eliminations, Swidarski said. The company did not say where the job cuts will take place.
Revenue fell 4 percent to $663.1 million, compared with $691.9 million a year ago.
Net income fell 88 percent to $1.6 million, or 2 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31 compared with $13.8 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier.
Results included a $25 million charge for a deal Diebold announced Monday that it reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle civil charges related to an investigation into now-discontinued company accounting practices. The SEC has yet to accept the settlement.
Using nongenerally accepted accounting principles, Diebold said it made 39 cents per share for the quarter compared with 42 cents a year ago.
Diebold has nearly 2,000 employees in Northeast Ohio and about 17,000 employees worldwide.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Bloomberg News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Shares in Green-based Diebold Inc. plunged today after the maker of automated teller machines released first quarter earnings and lowered its outlook for the remainder of the year.
The company said it plans to cut 300 jobs as it accelerates a cost-cutting program.
Declining demand in the United States and Eastern Europe caused much of the first quarter decline and the reduced outlook, executives said in a conference call with analysts.
Shares today closed down 4.2 percent, or $1.14, to $25.85, after falling more than 13 percent in trading earlier in the day. Shares are down 7 percent since Jan. 1, including reinvested dividends. Shares are down 33.3 percent from a year ago.
''As the quarter progressed, the earlier weakness in orders that we had experienced in Eastern Europe, Russia and the regional bank segment of the United States became more precipitous,'' Chief Executive Officer Thomas Swidarski said in a prepared statement. ''This market weakness, which occurred in some of our most profitable business sectors, has forced us to reduce our revenue and earnings expectations for the full year 2009.''
Diebold is ''seeing severe economic weakness in Russia and Eastern Europe,'' Swidarski said. ''The sustained drop in oil prices have significantly impacted the Russian economy.''
As a result, Diebold has ''really taken Russia off the table for the remainder of the year,'' he said.
Swidarski said he was pleased with the first quarter results, saying they exceeded internal expectations.
Leslie Pierce, Diebold's controller and acting chief financial officer, said there has been a ''dramatic weakening in demand from some of our most profitable markets.''
Diebold said it now expects a profit, excluding some items, of $1.70 to $2 a share. Diebold previously estimated it would make $2.10 to $2.40 this year.
Revenue might fall as much as 13 percent, more than an earlier estimate for a decline of as much as 10 percent, the company said.
The expected 300 job cuts will be accomplished through hiring restrictions, attrition and job eliminations, Swidarski said. The company did not say where the job cuts will take place.
Revenue fell 4 percent to $663.1 million, compared with $691.9 million a year ago.
Net income fell 88 percent to $1.6 million, or 2 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31 compared with $13.8 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier.
Results included a $25 million charge for a deal Diebold announced Monday that it reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle civil charges related to an investigation into now-discontinued company accounting practices. The SEC has yet to accept the settlement.
Using nongenerally accepted accounting principles, Diebold said it made 39 cents per share for the quarter compared with 42 cents a year ago.
Diebold has nearly 2,000 employees in Northeast Ohio and about 17,000 employees worldwide.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Bloomberg News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
