The Associated Press: Diebold Inc. said Jan. 26 that its ATM and security businesses drove per-share earnings up 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter despite costs related to the company's election systems.
Chairman and chief executive Walden W. O'Dell said the company expects to make less money in 2005 than it might have gotten from Ohio because of Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's recent decision that counties should use optical-scan voting machines rather than more expensive touchscreen systems.
Costs in the election systems business, made up of touchscreen voting machines and optical scanners, negatively affected earnings by 3 cents per share in the fourth quarter, the company stated. Charges of approximately 2 cents per share were related to systems recertification, plus legal and other costs related to settling lawsuits in California.
Election systems revenue was about $90 million, down 8.6 percent from 2003.
Diebold earned $62.8 million, or 87 cents per share, in the fourth quarter compared with $59.2 million, or 81 cents per share, in the same period in 2003.
Earnings per share were at the low end of the company's guidance of 87 cents to 92 cents and fell 2 cents short of analysts' expectations surveyed by Thomson First Call.
Sales were $717.2 million in the fourth quarter, up 10.6 percent from $648.4 million a year ago.
In all of 2004, Diebold earned slightly less than $184 million, or $2.54 per share, on sales of $2.38 billion, up 12.9 percent from 2003.
