As 2009 draws to a close, many companies will remember it as a tough year, a year of crisis that included layoffs and reduced business. Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX), whose 2009 fiscal year ended in September 2009, saw its first drop in revenue after five years of steady growth.
On Monday, Amdocs filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) its 20-F annual filing , which provides additional information about a challenging year. Run by president and CEO Dov Baharav, Amdocs has a market cap of $5.69 billion.
Amdocs had 17,244 employees at the end of September, 7% fewer than a year earlier. 1,291 persons left the company during fiscal year 2009, including 698 employees in Israel. Most of the employees who left were apparently let go as part of Amdocs' streamlining plan. The company recorded a $15.1 million restructuring expense for the year.
Israel continues to account for an increasingly smaller part of Amdocs, as far as its workforce is concerned. A total of 21% of the company's workforce is based at its four premises in Israel, down from 23% in September 2008, and 26% in September 2007. The company closed its Jerusalem premises and merged it with the Hod Hasharon center a year ago.
More than a quarter of Amdocs' employees are in North America, and another quarter are in India, where the workforce increased by 651 persons over the fiscal year.
In addition to being Amdocs' largest customer, AT&T was once also a party at interest in the company, thanks to ties going back to the 1980s. AT&T sold part of its holding in August 2009, and now owns less than 5% of the company.
Amdocs' largest shareholder is Thornburg Investment Management Inc., with a 10.2% stake.
Amdocs' average share price during fiscal year 2009 was $20.90, and it ranged from $15.80 to $27.30. During the year, employees exercised 1.3 million options at an average strike price of $21.63. At the end of September, Amdocs employees had 21.3 million outstanding options, exercisable at an average strike price of $30.93, compared with yesterday's closing price of $27.90. The share has risen 5.2% since the end of September.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 9, 2009
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