Xerox predicts solid growth in 2009

Xerox is expecting to generate an operating profit in 2009 of $1.4bn to $1.7bn

Xerox has delivered a positive message at its latest annual investor conference, bucking the trend of companies falling short of market expectations by at least meeting analyst predictions.

"Our value proposition is supported by the strength of our financial position and the resiliency of our recurring revenue stream," said Anne Mulcahy, chairman and chief executive at Xerox.

"We are managing our operations with a close eye on the bottom line. The restructuring actions we're taking this quarter are expected to deliver $200m [£130m] in savings next year, giving us greater flexibility to operate even more efficiently and effectively in an uncertain economic environment."

Xerox is expecting to generate an operating profit in 2009 of $1.4bn to $1.7bn (£911m to £1.1bn), and cash from operations of $1.7bn to $1.9bn (£1.1bn to £1.23bn). The company put the significant ranges placed on these figures down to the current economic uncertainty.

"About 85 per cent of our cash flow is generated from our annuity business model. This annuity is driven by install activity of our technology and multi-year contracts for document services," explained Mulcahy.

"Despite the current economy, the backlog of orders for our products, and a 14 per cent increase this year in signings for document services along with our disciplined approach to cost management, gives us confidence in the overall health of our business and our ability to navigate through these challenging times."

Highlighting its continued growth, Xerox has recently announced the opening of a northern European delivery centre to expand the company's business process services (BPS) which handle the outsourcing of document management services from a wide range of companies.

Xerox has had to move the BPS centre to larger premises to cope with demand and the ongoing trend toward document digitisation and management.

"In the current economic climate, Xerox's services are resonating with customers as they continually need to drive productivity and cost efficiency," said Peter Romaine, director and general manager of Xerox Global Services UK.

"Our global BPS centres allow us to scale very quickly. We are processing and managing millions of documents every day for some of the world's biggest companies."

The centres act as a document processing hub for global customers, with scanning and imaging services that convert a wide range of documents into searchable electronic content and manageable records for greater efficiency and security.

One of the more unusual requests has been the scanning of a 27-metre drawing of a well-known football manager's yacht.