Tech Stocks Mixed as Blue Chips Post Record Highs

bets and waited for Washington's budget impasse to play itself out. Meanwhile, the blue-chip stocks continued to surge, seemingly oblivious to the battle between Congress and President Clinton over the federal budget. The Dow Jones industrial average made yet another record high on Friday. National Computer Systems Inc. reported that earnings for its third fiscal quarter of 1995 totaled $6.2 million, or 39 cents per share, a 35% increase from the year-earlier period. The consensus among stock analysts called for Minneapolis-based National Computer to earn 40 cents a share for the three months ended Oct. 31, according to First Call Corp. Revenues for the quarter reached $97.3 million, up 3% from the corresponding quarter in 1995. "I am very pleased that NCS has reported strong operating results for the fourth consecutive quarter," said Russell A. Gullotti, chairman and chief executive of National Computer. "I am especially pleased by the improvement in our operating profit margins, which reached 11% in the third quarter. This reflects both a more favorable mix of revenues and the results of our ongoing focus on controlling operating expenses. "In addition, our Financial Systems business, which provides application software and services to the banking market, had an excellent third quarter and is poised for a strong fourth-quarter performance," Mr. Gullotti added. National Computer's common stock closed Friday at $20.875 a share, up 62.5 cents for the week. Check printer and automated teller machine processor Deluxe Corp. said Monday it has realigned its businesses into two principal market-serving units and eight support groups, and that fourth-quarter charges are likely. "We can't be specific right now as to the timing or amount of the charges we take related to consolidating our operations, realigning our business units, or exiting a business," Deluxe president J.A. Blanchard told Reuters. "However, it is likely that some of the charges will be taken in the fourth quarter 1995." Blanchard said the new organization provides an operating platform from which Deluxe will launch new product and service initiatives in early 1996. Deluxe's businesses have been realigned into the Financial Services unit, to be headed by Mark Gritton, and the Deluxe Direct unit, to be headed by Lawrence Mosner. Deluxe's common stock closed at $28.50 per share Friday, up $1.375 for the week. Another bank systems firm, CFI ProServices Inc., said last week it was also going through a restructuring of its business, cutting about 40 jobs from its payroll, including 27 layoffs. As part of the revamping, the Portland, Ore.-based firm said it is consolidating operations into four divisions. The company said it is eliminating jobs that were either redundant or not critical to operations in order to bring its costs in line with revenue growth. "The cost structure that served us as a fast-growing organization is not suitable for our current level of growth," said Bob Chamess, chief operating officer at CFI. The four new divisions will be standard products, retail delivery products, corporate support, and sales support, officials said.

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