Unisys Corp spun a profit of $19.3m out of a loss last time of $13.4m for its first quarter, and even sales were up 8% at $1.53bn, despite impact from the strong dollar. The profit turns into a loss of six cents a share because it is exceeded by payment of $30.1m in dividends on preferred stock. Driven by strong results from our Computer Systems business and another solid performance from our Global Customer Services unit, the company grew its revenue while significantly improving its profitability and operating cash flow from a year ago, said James Unruh, chairman and chief executive. After delivering quarter-to-quarter improvement in 1996, we continue to clearly build momentum under our three-business, one-company structure. We are on track toward our goals of delivering quarterly, year- over-year financial progress and full-year profitability in 1997. The company says growth at the Computer Systems Group was fuelled by strong demand for the ClearPath enterprise server systems, while the performance of Global Customer Services was driven by continued strong growth in distributed support services. And the Information Services Group continued to make progress in operational execution and in refining its business, Unisys says. The company believes it is on the road to full-year profitability for 1997. On the downside, cash fell by about $340m to about $700m in the quarter.
