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Lexmark International announced Tuesday that its fourth-quarter sales came in worse than expected and that it will launch another restructuring, this time aiming to affect 375 jobs. It’s the fifth restructuring or workforce reduction in five years, as the company struggles to turn around its inkjet division.
Best Buy, the top consumer electronics retailer, narrowed its full-year profit forecast on Friday after posting a 6.5 percent drop in December same-store sales during the worst U.S. holiday shopping season in nearly 40 years. The retailer said it now expects profit of $2.50 to $2.70 a share for its fiscal 2009, which ends next month.
Chip giant Intel has once again preannounced dire financial results — yet another sign of the year-long U.S. recession’s heavy toll on the technology industry. Intel said Wednesday that fourth-quarter revenue will come in at $8.2 billion, down 20 percent from the third quarter and down 23 percent year-over-year.
Online travel agency Orbitz on Wednesday said it named Barney Harford as president and chief executive and added that it would cut costs an additional $20 million to $25 million a year. Harford, 37, who has worked in the Internet travel business at rival Expedia, replaces Steve Barnhart as Orbitz CEO.
Media company Time Warner said Wednesday that it expects to record a fourth-quarter $25 billion impairment charge for its cable, publishing and AOL units that will lead to an operating loss for the period. New York-based Time Warner also anticipates a full-year loss, down from a prior outlook for a profit between $1.04 and $1.07 per share.
Logitech is retreating from its fiscal 2009 forecast and preparing to trim about 15 percent of its global workforce in preparation for what is looking to be a grim retail year. The Switzerland-based company employs 9,000 workers and manufactures mice, webcams and other computer peripherals. Demand for such devices has taken a nosedive in recent months.
Advanced Micro Devices said Monday that it cut 600 jobs in the third quarter — 100 more than it indicated in the guidance provided to Wall Street early last fall, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 100 extra job cuts resulted in $70 million in restructuring costs, rather than the $50 million the struggling chip company said it would take when the cuts were first announced.
Struggling smartphone maker Palm just got a $100 million shot in the arm from private equity group Elevation Partners. In an investment agreement announced Monday, Elevation acquired new issues of preferred stock in Palm for $3.25 per share, a 31 percent premium over the closing price of Palm’s stock last week.
Shares of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software fell 26 percent to $8.91 in late-day trading Thursday after the company announced a disappointing financial forecast for the holiday shopping period. Take-Two shares were down 68.2 percent from their 52-week high of $27.91.
In yet another sign of weakening in the technology sector, enterprise software giant Oracle announced a decline in profits on Thursday. The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based company reported $1.29 billion in earnings during the fiscal quarter ended Nov. 31, down 1 percent from $1.3 billion in earnings during the same period last year.
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