Teradata Corp. rebounds from rare losing quarter.Teradata Corp. rebounds from rare losing quarter After a brief bout with red ink red ink Health administration A popular term for financial losses. Cf in the Black. last fall, Teradata Corp. snapped back into the black last week, reporting a slim profit on higher revenues. The El Segundo El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and computer company Jan. 29 announced earnings of $436,000 on $63.8 million revenues in its fiscal second quarter. Teradata stock rose 75 cents to $13.75 a share, having fully doubled in price since the previous quarter's $7.6 million loss was reported. Also possibly aiding the stock have been rumors For other uses, see Rumor (disambiguation). Rumors is a farcical play by Neil Simon. At its start, several affluent couples gather in the posh suburban residence of a couple for a dinner party celebrating their tenth anniversary. of a possible buyout Buyout The purchase of a company or a controlling interest of a corporation's shares. Notes: A leveraged buyout is accomplished with borrowed money or by issuing more stock. by NCR (NCR Corporation, Dayton, OH, www.ncr.com) A technology company specializing in financial terminal transactions, retail systems and data warehousing. Until the late 1990s, NCR was heavily invested in the hardware side of the industry, known worldwide as a major manufacturer of computers Corp. or AT&T. Attempts to reach Teradata Chief Executive Kenneth W. Simonds were unsuccessful, and director B. Kipling Hagopian declined comment on that issue. In a printed statement Simonds said, "We are cautiously optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op following our return to profitability." He said Teradata has "effectively halted" previously planned expense growth and expects operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. to decline further in the second half of the fiscal year. Operating expenses declined 3 percent in the second quarter. Teradata, with $224 million in 1990 revenues, produces computer systems that allow users to sort and retrieve trillions of data bits. AT&T has been one of its largest customers. Teradata is a bright star among its peers, racking up only one quarterly loss in the last four years, while revenues grew 13-fold. Computer cash-register maker NCR, interested in developing technology to better track retail products, purchased a 9.4 percent stake in Teradata last March, helping to drive Teradata stock to $35.50 a share. It has since declined all the way to $6.75 following its Oct. 30 announcement of a $7.6 million loss on soft sales. Cost-cutting and layoffs followed. Management took a 5 percent pay cut and trimmed staff by 10 percent. "They were (also) concerned . . . about how serious the recession would be," said Hagopian. And last week Simonds announced a larger share of manufacturing will take place at more efficient Teradata facilities in Ireland. Although second-quarter revenues were $63.8 million, up from the year-ago quarter by $9.2 million, all of that gain and more - $9.5 million - was provided by its ShareBase subsidiary that was acquired last June. Second-quarter profit of $436,000, or 3 cents a share, compares with a profit before extraordinary item of $4.5 million, or 31 cents a share in the prior year. The item was $832,000, or 6 cents a share. International customers accounted for 13.0 percent of total revenues, up from 6.5 percent last quarter. "While our overall business in the U.S. was strong, we continued to experience reduced demand from our domestic banking customers in the Northeast and a longer procurement The fancy word for "purchasing." The procurement department within an organization manages all the major purchases. process in our U.S. government accounts," said Simonds. Some published news reports and securities analysts have speculated that NCR might bid for Teradata, in part to load up on debt, thereby warding off a hostile bid for NCR by suitor SUITOR. One who is a party to a suit or action in court. One who is a party to an action. In its ancient sense, suitor meant one Who was bound to attend the county court, also, one who formed part of the secta. (q.v.) AT&T. |
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