Pitney Bowes Profits Sink, Forecast Lowered

by Alyssa Oursler | August 3, 2012 11:14 am

[1]Pitney Bowe‘s (NYSE:PBI) struggles continued in the second quarter, as its profits and revenue declined even more.

The mail and document services company reported a profit of $99.6 million, or 50 cents a share, down from $100.9 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had been expecting 49 cents per share.

Revenue fell 5.2% to $1.25 billion, as Wall Street expected.

The company also lowered its full-year outlook to $1.95 to $2.15, as opposed to a previous forecast of $2.05 to $2.25 a share. Revenue is expected to be anywhere between flat and 4% lower year-over-year, down from the previous range between a 2% drop to a 2% increase.

Uncertainty in Europe was the reasoning behind the lowered forecast. The weak economy at home and abroad is thought to be quickening the decline of mail[2], The Wall Street Journal reports.

Pitney Bowes has been trying to shift away from old-school mail, though, and recently launched a cloud-based service to print postage and shipping labels, on top of signing an agreement with Facebook (NASDAQ:FB[3]) to offer global geocoding services.

The company is also one of InvestorPlace’s list of Dependable Dividend Stocks[4] — a list of companies that are rock-solid when it comes to preserving capital and making regular dividend payments.

The company has a striking 11.6% yield and has been paying its dividend since 1934.

Still, shares are down 24% year-to-date and over 30% in the past year total.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/08/pitney-bowes-profits-sink-forecast-lowered/

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