Foreign Currency Rates Hurt Xerox

Article Excerpt

XEROX CORP. $7.44 (New York symbol XRX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 864.8 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; WSSF Rating: Average) earned $985 million before restructuring charges in 2008, down 13.2% from $1.1 billion in 2007. Per-share earnings fell 7.6%, to $1.10 from $1.19 on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 2.2%, to $17.6 billion from $17.2 billion. Xerox gets roughly 50% of its revenue from outside the United States, so the higher U.S. dollar dampened its growth in 2008. Steady demand for services (48% of 2008 revenue) should help Xerox offset weaker demand for new printers and copiers. Recent cuts to its workforce should also save it $200 million a year. Xerox is a buy. buy…