NCR gets good, bad news

Marking its first quarterly report since its spinoff from AT&T last month, NCR (NCR) posted improved fourth-quarter profits but declining revenues.

The computer product and services company reported net profits of $7 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $305 million, or $3.01 a share, a year earlier.

On the revenue side, NCR reported $2 billion for the quarter, down 10 percent from a year ago.

"Traditional quarterly comparisions, which include results from businesses discontinued as part of our restructuring, tend to mask the solid operational achievements we made during the year in turning the business around," said Lars Nyberg, chairman and chief executive, in a statement.

For the year, NCR reported a net loss of $109 million, or $1.07 a share, compared with a loss of $2.28 billion, or $22.49 a share, in the previous year.

Year-end revenues reached $6.96 billion, a 15 percent drop from fiscal 1995.