Xerox Says It Has Plenty Of Cash

Friday, October 13th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) â€” Xerox Corp. stock was trading Friday near its 52-week low while the company attempted to squelch rumors in European markets that it might be close to filing for bankruptcy court protection.

Xerox stock, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, was selling for $10.313 a share at midday, down 94 cents or about 9 percent. Its closing low for the year is $10.

Xerox said company policy is to refrain from commenting on rumors, but said it was issuing a statement ``in order to reassure the markets.''

The company said it has sufficient cash and reserves, including a $7 billion revolving credit agreement.

Spokesman Jeff Simek said Xerox is unsure how the rumor began, but said it ``was following the sun'' as markets around the world opened for the morning.

Facing stiff competition, still coping with the fallout from a disastrous reshuffling of its sales force and under investigation for alleged accounting irregularities in its Mexico business, Xerox has struggled over the past year.

Earlier this month shares of Xerox plummeted nearly 26 percent after the company warned that it would post a third-quarter loss of between 15 cents and 20 cents per share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of about 12 cents per share.

A few days later the company slashed its quarterly dividend by 75 percent, to 5 cents per share.

Chairman Paul Allaire and Anne Mulcahy, president and chief operating officer, had previously announced a plan to improve the company's profitability and cash flow that includes the sale of certain assets and major cost reductions.

Xerox is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings Oct. 24 and is expected to reveal details of its plans then.

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On the Net:

Xerox site: http://www.xerox.com