EDS Earnings Climb 20% in Third Quarter

Computer services provider Electronic Data Systems Corp. said its third-quarter earnings rose 20%, excluding acquisition costs, as companies continued to cut costs by outsourcing computer operations.

Plano, Texas-based EDS, the world’s No.2 computer services provider after IBM Corp., said earnings were $334 million, or 69 cents a diluted share, compared with $279 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier.

Including a one-time charge of $122 million for follow-up costs from the acquisition of Structural Dynamics and Unigraphics, EDS said earnings dropped 24% to $212 million, or 44 cents a diluted share, from the same comparison figure of $279 million.

Wall Street estimates had ranged between 65 cents and 69 cents a share with an average of 68 cents, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

EDS said third-quarter revenue rose 16% to $5.6 billion from $4.8 billion a year earlier.