Xerox Outpaces Analysts" Predictions - NYTimes.com Xerox, a provider of copiers, printers and business services, reported first-quarter earnings on Monday that exceeded analysts" estimates after companies and governments farmed out more tasks to cut costs. Earnings excluding some onetime items were little changed at 23 cents a share, Xerox said. Analysts had predicted earnings of 22 cents a share, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. Net income declined 4.3 percent to $269 million, or 19 cents a share, from $281 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Xerox, helped by its 2010 acquisition of Affiliated Services, is expanding in markets including managing and automating electronic payments for governments and processing claims for insurers. The company reiterated its full-year forecast for earnings, excluding onetime items, of $1.12 to $1.18 a share, and said margins would improve each quarter as service contracts ramp up from startup costs to delivering income. "Services revenue growth was better than anticipated and is an important signpost for the stock," Ananda Baruah, an analyst at Brean Murray, Carret & Company, said in a note to clients. Technology and document outsourcing sales are "off to a solid start," she wrote. Sales increased about 1 percent to $5.5 billion, exceeding the $5.45 billion analysts had projected. Services revenue climbed 9 percent, or 10 percent excluding changes in exchange rates, led by business-process outsourcing. "Services now represents more than half of our total revenue and will continue to be the growth engine of our company," the company's chief executive, Ursula M. Burns, said in the statement. Our business mix continues to change as we significantly scale our revenue in services and invest in growth through new offerings and long-term contracts. Technology sales, which include printers and printing supplies, fell 6 percent as more businesses outsourced printing rather than bought machines. Sales were also affected by a "weak macro environment," Xerox said. Xerox forecast second-quarter earnings excluding some items of 25 cents to 28 cents a share. Analysts projected 26 cents on average.