OHIO Cardinal Health plans to cut jobs

Ohio's largest company considers exiting some businesses.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Cardinal Health Inc. plans to cut jobs as part of a restructuring plan at a cost of about $19 million in the first and second quarters of 2005, the company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
The news came the day after the provider of health-care services and supplies said it was again delaying the filing of its annual financial report with the government, saying it needs to complete an internal investigation of its accounting practices.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. attorney's office in New York have been investigating Cardinal's accounting practices.
Where cuts are
Cardinal, based in suburban Dublin, said in its SEC filing that it will "restructure or exit certain business activities." The jobs will be cut in the company's pharmaceutical technologies and services segment, according to the filing. A message seeking details was left with a Cardinal spokesman.
The pharmaceutical technologies and services segment accounts for about 5 percent of the company's sales and about 18 percent of its profit, said Eric Coldwell, an analyst with Chicago-based Robert W. Baird & amp; Co.
Coldwell said he was not surprised by the announcement.
"We expected reductions in this segment. This division has underperformed in growth and profit for the past few years," he said.
Cardinal also said in its SEC filing that some of its executives who own stock will be prohibited from trading it until the company files its annual earnings report.
Largest in state
Cardinal is Ohio's largest company with annual sales of more than $50 billion. Its shares fell 16 cents to close at $44.82 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
On Monday, the company said its earnings report for fiscal year 2004, which ended June 30, won't be released until late October. That's six weeks past when the company said it would file the report and three months beyond when it initially had planned to release it.
Cardinal said the delays would not change its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter and fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call are expecting earnings of 94 cents per share in the fourth quarter, $3.53 in fiscal 2004 and $3.56 in 2005.
Postponing meeting
The company said it was postponing its Nov. 3 annual shareholder meeting to a date as soon as possible after the filing.
In June, Cardinal cut its 2004 earnings forecast and announced the SEC had expanded its probe and subpoenaed the company for documents relating to revenue classification in its pharmaceutical distribution business.