Why Shares of Unisys Popped Today
What happened
Shares of technology services and solutions provider Unisys (NYSE: UIS) jumped on Wednesday after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue and earnings that beat analyst estimates. The stock was up about 17.5% at 12:45 p.m. EST.
So what
Unisys reported fourth-quarter revenue of $760.9 million, up 2.2% year over year and $8.9 million higher than the average analyst estimate. Currency hurt the company's results, with revenue up 4.8% year over year in constant currency. Non-GAAP adjusted revenue was up 1.3% to $754.6 million.
Services accounted for $625.5 million of revenue, growing by 5.6% year over year. The rest came from technology, which slumped 11% year over year to $135.4 million. The company blamed the renewal schedule for its ClearPath Forward products for the decline.
Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.97, down from $1.75 in the prior-year period but $0.31 better than analysts were expecting. Earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 were boosted by tax benefits worth $0.41 per share related to the Tax Cut and Jobs Act.
Now what
Total revenue grew by 3% in 2018, the first year of revenue growth for Unisys since 2003. "Our results were driven by our strategy of a focused industry go-to-market approach and using security to differentiate our offerings. Our expertise in cloud migration and infrastructure modernization and managed digital workplace services which contributed to our growth in 2018, is aligned with ongoing market demand for these services," said Unisys President and CEO Peter Altabef.
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