Stamford mail and document management company Pitney Bowes Inc. plans to trim its work force by up to 10 percent in the next two years as part of a restructuring.
The cuts are part of an overall company plan by 2012 to transform its global operations, Pitney Bowes said.
The company expects the total pre-tax cost of the program to be in the range of $250 million to $350 million, most of it severance and benefit costs related to job cuts.
Beginning in 2010, Pitney Bowes also said it expects to record pretax charges of $100 million to $150 million as a result the restructuring.
Excluding those charges, Pitney Bowes forecast a 2010 adjusted profit of $2.30 to $2.50 per share.
On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect a profit of $2.41 per share. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude one-time items.
The restructuring charges are expected to reduce Pitney Bowes’ 2010 profit by 32 cents to 48 cents per share. Furthermore, a tax adjustment related to stock options is expected to lower earnings by another 7 cents per share.
As a result, Pitney Bowes expects earnings per share from continuing operations to range from $1.75 to $2.11 per share in 2010.
Pitney Bowes also said revenue could grow as much as 3 percent in 2010. That forecast includes a benefit of about 2 percent from currency fluctuations. (AP)
