Unisys

Unisys Corp. expects to meet analysts' fourth-quarter earnings estimate of 41 cents per share, the company said yesterday. During a conference with analysts in New York, the Blue Bell computer-services company also said it plans to take a fourth-quarter charge of $150 million to $175 million for 2,000 job cuts worldwide. Most of those cuts had been announced in the fall, when the company offered early retirement to 1,500 employees. Lawrence A. Weinbach, Unisys' chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday that 750 employees had accepted that offer.

Unisys, the Detroit-based computer manufacturer created by the merger of Sperry and Burroughs, expects to report a net loss for 1986 as a result of the marriage between the two companies. W. Michael Blumenthal, Unisys' chairman, said, without giving any figures, that the company's full-year loss would not be "a significant amount. " The company reported earlier that it would post a loss of $250 million to $275 million in the fourth quarter. The 1986 loss is result of the merger-related, after-tax charge stemming from the layoffs and other streamlining measures Burroughs launched after it acquired Sperry last fall for $4.8 billion.

Unisys Corp. chief executive James Unruh headed out to the company's television studio in Princeton Wednesday morning and took to the interoffice airwaves. For about 45 minutes, in his calm, unflappable manner, Unruh sought to allay employees' fears about the company's future. From dozens of Unisys installations across the country, employees called in questions for Unruh and clustered around closed-circuit TV sets to listen to his replies. There is no cash crisis, Unruh assured them.

Unisys Corp. yesterday announced that it would sell its Aerospace Group for $1.025 billion to Honeywell Inc. The Aerospace Group is made up largely of the aerospace operations of the former Sperry Corp., which merged with Burroughs Corp. on Sept. 16. On Monday, the combined entity was renamed Unisys. The deal will be the second major asset sale by Unisys, which last week said it would sell most of the Memorex subsidiary of the former Burroughs Corp. for $550 million. Completion of the two deals, expected by the end of the year, would meet the company's goal of raising $1.5 billion through asset sales to help reduce the $3.4 billion in debt incurred by Burroughs in its acquisition of Sperry.

In a bid to claw its way onto IBM's turf in the market for desktop computers, Unisys Corp. yesterday announced a new, more powerful desktop model based on Intel Corp.'s 80386 microprocessor. The 80386 chip, which broadens the range of functions that can be performed by desktop computers, is expected to become the the industry standard for the next generation of small computers. A number of other companies already are shipping computers that use the chip, and IBM is expected to introduce an 80386-based machine next Thursday that will be the successor to its PC series of personal computers.

Unisys Corp. has disclosed new details about how close it is to borrowing limits and other restrictions on its loan agreements with banks. The Blue Bell computer company, in a filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosed that its agreement with a bank syndicate required Unisys to have a minimum net worth - assets minus debts - of $3.5 billion. As of Sept. 30, Unisys had net worth, as defined by the banks, of $3.82 billion. The narrow margin on net worth could cause trouble for Unisys in two ways.

The Whitpain Board of Supervisors has denied an ordinance that would permit a Blue Bell computer company to construct a private heliport on its property. During a meeting Monday night, the board voted 3-0 to deny an ordinance requested by Unisys Corp. to allow heliports in I-Limited Industrial Districts in the township. Supervisors Leigh Narducci and William DeWald did not vote because of possible business conflicts. The supervisors had a hearing on the request last month.

In 1986, Unisys Corp. chairman W. Michael Blumenthal predicted that sales would begin to take off in late 1988, and really soar in 1989. Instead, the Blue Bell company is talking about making a Lazarus-like recovery in the second half of this year just to match 1988 sales and profits. And some Wall Street analysts are wondering whether Unisys ever will do more than hold its own in the increasingly turbulent computer environment. Indeed, Unisys has been accident-prone for the last six months.

Unisys Corp. and high-rise residents of Two Liberty Place will continue their argument at a hearing tomorrow over whether the company can put its logo in large red letters near the top of the Center City building. The hearing at Philadelphia's Zoning Board of Adjustment, 1515 Arch St., will begin at 9 a.m. It follows a July 23 hearing that was so contentious that the board had to schedule another one so everyone could be heard. The battle pits Unisys, which plans to move its headquarters from Blue Bell to Two Liberty next year, against owners of luxury condominiums in the building.

Attorney General Ernie Preate Jr. and Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Cynthia M. Maleski yesterday joined in a class-action suit aimed at extending state protection to pensions for Unisys Corp. retirees in the state. Preate and Maleski said they have asked Commonwealth Court to rule that certain pension benefits purchased for Unisys employees from the now-insolvent Executive Life Insurance Co. of California be covered by the state insurance guaranty fund. "Such action would ensure that Pennsylvania employees' pensions are not placed in jeopardy by Executive Life's insolvency," they said in a statement.

IN THE REGION Unisys shares jump 20% Shares of Unisys Corp. were among the biggest movers after the Blue Bell information technology company reported a rare quarterly revenue increase as well as higher profits. Unisys shares closed up 20 percent, or $3.30, to $19.70, making it the second-biggest gainer on the New York Stock Exchange. After stock market trading had ended Tuesday, the company announced first-quarter revenues of $928.4 million, up 2 percent from the same quarter in 2011.

Shares of Unisys Corp. were among the biggest movers Wednesday after the Blue Bell information technology company reported a rare quarterly revenue increase as well as higher profit. Unisys shares closed up 20 percent, or $3.30, to $19.70, making it the second-biggest gainer on the New York Stock Exchange. After stock market trading had ended Tuesday, the company announced first-quarter revenues of $928.4 million, up 2 percent from $911.2 million for the same quarter in 2011.

Albert Rusko, 86, of Oxford Circle, a retired computer engineer, died of complications from sepsis Thursday, Dec. 15, at Aria Health-Torresdale Campus. Mr. Rusko, whose parents emigrated from what is now Slovakia, grew up in Port Richmond and graduated from North Catholic High School. At 17, he joined the Army. He served in the South Pacific in World War II and saw action in the Philippines. After his discharge, he earned an associate's degree from Temple University and then joined Burroughs Corp.

Shares in Unisys Corp., of Blue Bell, were up 31 percent at midday after the company said late Monday that third-quarter net income more than doubled as revenue grew thanks to strong demand for its mainframe computers. The results for the information technology service provider were well ahead of analysts' forecasts. Net income in the three months to Sept. 30 grew to $78.6 million, or $1.63 per share, from $28.3 million, or 65 cents per share, a year ago. That was better than the 70 cents per share in net income expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Unisys Corp., Blue Bell, won a support-services contract worth up to $10.2 million from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The company will design, install and maintain hardware and software for all phases of the Atlanta-based agency's public-health mission. The goal is to standardize and reduce the cost of its information-technology services.    -Paul Schweizer

Woods Services Inc. , a Langhorne nonprofit organization that provides educational, residential, and vocational services to children and adults with developmental, emotional, or brain-injury-related disabilities, has named the following officers to its board:   Peter S. Bodenheimer , senior vice president of Boenning & Scattergood Inc., West Conshohocken, is chairman.   George J. Vergis , former president and chief executive officer of Neose Technologies Inc., is vice chairman.

Unisys Corp., of Blue Bell, won a $30 million contract from the state of Michigan's Department of Technology, Management and Budget to build and maintain a new child-welfare computer services system, the company said Monday. The system will help social workers track the cases of about 15,000 children in foster care and adoption programs. The new contract will run three years, and the state has the option to extend it for two additional one-year periods. If ordered, additional services could make the deal worth $47 million to Unisys.