Xerox CEO waves off Fujifilm appellate court win

Xerox Corp.”™s chief executive brushed aside concerns over last week”™s appellate court ruling that cleared the way for Fujifilm Holdings Corp. to reopen acquisition negotiations with the Norwalk-headquartered company.

During an investors”™ call to discuss Xerox”™s third-quarter performance, CEO and Vice Chairman John Visentin was unperturbed by the decision by the New York State Appellate Court in favor of Fujifilm. “As for the appeals court favor, we don’t believe it means very much for Xerox because Xerox terminated that transaction for reasons unrelated to the injunctions,” Visentin said.

However, Visentin also noted that Xerox and Fujifilm are still working together on other endeavors. “We’ve had continued communications with Fuji and with them as JV (joint venture) partner,” he said. “In fact, they were here recently for discussions on how as a prospective they can provide and earn our business.”

Xerox reported net income of $89 million in the third quarter, down from $179 million the year before. The company cut 900 employees worldwide in the third quarter.

“We were disappointed in the revenue in Q3,” Visentin said. “We have an action plan to improve revenues that includes, among other things, simplifying the organizational structure, improving alignment of compensation and evaluating contracts that are not profitable.”