Xerox reports loss for fourth quarter

STAMFORD, Conn. - Xerox Corp. reported Monday it lost $4 million in the fourth quarter, citing weak economic conditions that contributed to a 13 percent decline in revenue. <br> <br> The Stamford-based printer and copier company&#39;s loss amounted to one cent per share for the October-December period compared with a loss of $20 million, or 4 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. <br> <br> Excluding one-time items, Xerox reported earnings of $108 million, or 15 cents per share. That exceeded the consensus estimate of a loss of 1 cent per share by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call. <br> <br> Xerox, which has posted losses for more than a year, hailed the operational profit as evidence of its successful turnaround effort. That initiative, announced more than a year ago, includes the reduction of thousands of jobs and the sale of billions of dollars in assets. <br> <br> Xerox&#39;s year-end employment was 78,900, down 13,600 from the end of 2000. <br> <br> &#34;Today&#39;s results are all about execution -- the precise execution of a turnaround strategy that has significantly strengthened Xerox&#39;s core operations while effectively positioning the company to exploit future market opportunities in its production, office and services business,&#34; said Anne M. Mulcahy, Xerox chairman and chief executive. <br> <br> Mulcahy said in October after the third quarter results that she was &#34;cautiously optimistic&#34; about returning to operational profitability in the fourth quarter. <br> <br> Fourth-quarter revenue was $4.26 billion, down from $4.88 billion in the same period a year ago. Sales declined 26 percent in developing markets, Xerox said. <br> <br> For the year, Xerox reported a net loss of $293 million, or 43 cents per share on revenue of $16.5 billion. That compared with a loss in 2000 of $257 million, or 44 cents per share, on revenue of $18.7 billion. <br> <br> ------ <br> <br>

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