First quarter results from Xerox, excluding large litigation charges, have met market expectations.
Xerox allocated $491.0 million to cover the settlement of a securities lawsuit and to reserve for pending securities cases. The suit, which dates back to 2000, was filed on behalf of buyers of Xerox stock between 1998 and 2002.
The charge sank Xerox to a first-quarter loss of $244.0 million from a profit of $233.0 million in the previous year. Sales increased 13.2% to $4.3 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations for sales of $4.2 billion.
To reduce the impact of the economic slowdown in the U.S., Xerox is looking to expand further in Western Europe and emerging markets like Eastern Europe, India and Russia. Last year it acquired Global Imaging Systems, gaining access to its 200,000 small and mid-size business customers. Also, on April 16, it announced the pending purchase of Veenman, a Netherlands-based office tech distributor