Raising doubts that Wang Laboratories Inc will be able to renegotiate its loans with its bankers without a lot more pain its net worth is now below the level required for its revolving credit agreements – the company yesterday announced a fourth quarter loss substantially wider than expected at $375m – and something over $111m of that came from operations, write-downs and provisions making up $264m pre-tax. Turnover for the quarter fell 4.7% to $784m. Much of the bad news was already in the share price, and the Class B dipped only 50 cents to $5.875. The $234m restructuring charges includes lay-off costs, costs associated with realignment of its US sales service and administrative support and plant closings, and adjustments to the asset values of business activities now outside the company’s newly-defined core businesses – financial services, government, manufacturing, professional services, and image. The InteCom PABX business is on the block. Operating results were hit by weak US demand and currency translations, which cut foreign returns 5% although these were up 3% in local currencies. Increasing the pressure on the Lowell, Massachusetts company, its bankers have given the company a waiver of only until August 10 before they call in their loans. The company ended the year with 28,300 employees, against 31,516 at March 31, and more job cuts are planned for the first half of this fiscal, 375 of them at the Puerto Rico factory.
