TECHNOLOGY : Unisys, Control Data Sag While Rival Leaps

Unisys Corp. and Control Data Corp., among the nation’s leading computer makers, Tuesday reported losses for the final quarter of 1990.

Commodore International Ltd., however, reported that its quarterly earnings more than tripled, thanks to strong sales in Europe.

Unisys

The Blue Bell, Pa.-based firm said it lost $88.5 million in the fourth quarter, contrasted with a profit of $34 million in the 1989 period. Revenue in the period was $2.93 billion, down slightly from $2.97 billion a year ago.

For all of 1990, Unisys, the nation’s third-largest computer maker, reported a loss of $436.7 million on revenue of $10.11 billion, compared to a $639.3-million loss in 1989, when revenue was $10.10 billion.

The firm has been battered by the sluggish computer market, an eroding market share in its core mainframe business, and a huge debt incurred in the 1986 merger of Burroughs and Sperry that created Unisys.

Also cited were lower sales volumes, industry pricing pressures, losses on a personal computer contract with the U.S. government, and the effect of currency devaluation on its Brazilian operations.

“Overall, 1990 was a disappointing year for Unisys and one of continued difficult transformation for the industry,” Chairman James A. Unruh said in a statement.

“Facing a weak outlook for computer orders, we will post a loss in the first quarter and expect a very difficult first half,” he added.

Unruh said the company would continue to focus on trimming expenses by cutting its work force and selling non-core assets, as well as reducing its debt of nearly $4 billion by $600 million to $800 million in the coming year.

Analysts noted that Unisys’ cash flow improved, but that did not dispel uncertainty about its future.

Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Donald Young noted that Unisys showed little margin growth, on which he said the company’s “long-term survivability hinges.”

Control Data

The Minneapolis-based computer maker cited $47.7 million in restructuring and other pretax charges taken in the fourth quarter for its loss of $23.8 million in the period. Revenue was $429.7 million.

In the year-ago period, the company lost $196.4 million on revenue of $523.7 million.

“The charges did not permit the company to realize the level of profitability we expected earlier in the year, and they demonstrate that Control Data is in the middle of the turnaround process,” President Lawrence Perlman said.

However, for all of 1990, Control Data eked out $2.7 million in net income on revenue of $1.7 billion. In 1989, it lost $680.4 million on $2.9 billion in revenue. The 1989 results included several businesses that have been sold, most notably its Imprimis disk drive unit.

Commodore

For its second quarter ended Dec. 31, the West Chester, Pa.-based firm reported net income of $36.5 million, up 223% from the $11.3 million it reported a year ago.

Commodore said the quarter’s revenue was $384.1 million, compared to $310.7 million a year ago.

“We are pleased with the strong sales performance of our European operations, which accounted for 85% of total sales for the quarter,” said Irving Gould, chairman and chief executive.

He added that in several European countries, the company reported sales growth of more than 50%.