Oct. 26--Unisys Corp., of Blue Bell, narrowed its third-quarter loss to $77.5 million, or 23 cents a share, from $1.63 billion, or $4.78 a share, in the third quarter of 2005, which included a $1.57 billion tax-related charge.
Unisys chairman and chief executive officer Joseph W. McGrath said yesterday that the results were evidence that the beleaguered company was on its way to profitability through cost-cutting and trying to focus on growth areas, such as security, outsourcing, and systems that use "open source," or nonproprietary, software.
Revenue inched up to $1.41 billion from $1.39 billion in the third quarter of 2005, aided in part by contracts to electronically monitor the U.S.-Mexico border, along with prime contractor Boeing Co.; develop an advanced DNA-tracking system for the FBI that would allow local, state and federal law enforcement to link DNA samples with previously convicted offenders; assist coffee-shop chain Starbucks Corp. as it expands outside the United States; and other deals.
The firm said it had identified 100 positions to cut, mostly in Europe, in addition to the 5,500 it had announced previously as part of a companywide restructuring.
Also as part of that restructuring, Unisys said Tuesday that it was launching a "Security Unleashed" marketing campaign that portrays one of its main product lines, information-technology security, as a competitive business advantage, rather than a costly, "necessary evil."
Analyst Peter J. Zaimes of Technology Business Research Inc. said in a research note yesterday that, while Unisys suffered a public relations stumble with the theft of one of its sensitive data-containing PCs this summer by a contractor, there are some potential bright spots. Among them, he said, was Unisys' open-source commitment, which seems more focused than those of competitors International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
"Unisys is uniquely positioned in that its offerings are set specifically around a specific group of open-source components," Zaimes said.
"Other services players are not sure how to position themselves around the open-source debate," as they are afraid of coming across as heavy-handed with their own standards, and thus alienating the very open-source users they are trying to court, he said.
Unisys shares closed down 15 cents at $6.52 yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.