Xerox Chief Executive Ms Anne Mulcahy has said she is "pleased" with the company's market opportunity, which is focused in areas that will let it grow and gain shares.
Speaking during the company's investor conference in New York, Ms Mulcahy said copier company is "very" comfortable with analyst expectations for fourth-quarter earnings of between 13 cents and 16 cents a share and is on track to report full-year earnings of 50 cents to 55 cents a share.
According to Ms Mulcahy, Xerox will continue to deliver consistent earnings going forward. Xerox is "not wanting for growth" said Mulcahy.
For 2003, she said Xerox is well on its way to report free cash flow of $1.5 billion or better. To date, Xerox has $900 million in cash flow after funding its pension plan with $600 million.
The company currently has $11.8 billion in debt and plans to end the year with debt below $11 billion. Mulcahy noted that Xerox will continue to reduce its debt in the next 12 months to 18 months.
For 2004 and 2005, Xerox is projecting earnings of 67 cents to 72 cents per share and 90 cents to $1 per share, respectively.
Gross margins are expected to come in the 41 percent to 42 percent range in both years. The copier company is forecasting 2004 sales to be flat year-over-year and up 5 percent in 2005. Year to date, sales are down 2 percent.
Shares of Xerox were at $10.39 in early, down 15 cents, or 1.4 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.