Xerox Corp. said a “weak macro environment” impacted sales of printers and other devices in the first quarter, and promised cost cuts to keep up profitability without providing immediate details.
First quarter revenue for Norwalk-based Xerox totaled $5.5 billion, up 1 percent from a year ago, with the Norwalk-based giant”™s Affiliated Computer Services unit leading the way. The company won an $848 million contract during the quarter from the state of Texas, where ACS is based, to create cloud-based infrastructure for various processes.
Xerox”™s profit fell 4 percent to $269 million. During the quarter, the company secured $1.1 billion in new financing through the sale of notes.
Xerox cut 500 North American jobs in the first quarter, taking a $17 million charge to account for severance and other restructuring moves. The company”™s worldwide employment totaled 138,300 people at the close of March.
“Our business mix continues to change as we significantly scale our revenue in services and invest in growth through new offerings and long-term contracts,” said Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, in a press release. “As a result, we see short-term pressure on margins that we will offset through cost reductions and operational improvements. We”™re accelerating top-line services growth that leads to solid bottom-line performance.”
