Diebold Posts 3Q Loss On Voting Unit Sale Charge

NORTH CANTON, Ohio (AP) — ATM maker Diebold Inc. on Tuesday posted a third-quarter loss as it absorbed a big loss on the sale of its voting machine business. It also cut its full year profit and revenue forecast.

But Diebold President and CEO Thomas W. Swidarski saw encouraging signs in the results, given the difficulties faced by its financial market customers.

He said the company has been able to "significantly reduce operating expenses on a dollar basis while maintaining our investment" in developing products and services.

"We believe this strategy will help strengthen our competitive position when our core markets return to growth," he said.

Diebold shares fell $1.15, or 3.8 percent, to $28.80 in morning trading.

Diebold reported a net loss of $7.2 million, or 11 cents per share, in the July-September period compared with a profit of $46.5 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a $31.4 million loss on the sale of its Premier Election Solutions business and 2 cents-per-share in restructuring charges, mostly related to severance costs from downsizing its staff, adjusted earnings came in at 39 cents per share.