STAMFORD, Conn. — Xerox Corp. reported a second-quarter profit Monday of $86 million, down 1 percent from the same period last year, but the company said rising equipment sales, a currency benefit and cost cutting helped it beat expectations.
The earnings for the April-June period amounted to 9 cents per share, compared with net income of $87 million, or 11 cents per share, for the same period last year.
Excluding a one-time charge, Xerox said it had earnings of 14 cents per share. That beat the consensus estimate of 12 cents per share by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
"It was an excellent quarter," said Ulysses Yannas, an analyst with Buckman, Buckman and Reid. "It was excellent because in all areas where these guys have been making the investments they were ahead of where we expected them to be."
Xerox had revenue of $3.92 billion, down 1 percent from $3.95 billion for the same period last year.
The Stamford-based maker of printers and copiers said equipment sales grew 8 percent in the second-quarter, mostly from a currency benefit stemming from the weak dollar. The company, which has been struggling in recent years, has introduced 26 new products in the past 18 months and cut costs through layoffs and other measures as part of a turnaround initiative.
It was the first time in more than two years that Xerox had year-over-year growth in equipment sales, company officials said.