RYDER SYSTEM TO TAKE $50-MILLION THIRD-QUARTER CHARGE

RYDER SYSTEM TO TAKE $50-MILLION THIRD-QUARTER CHARGE

   Ryder System Inc., the Miami-based supply chain and transportation management services provider, said Monday it will record restructuring and other charges of $50 million to $54 million for its current quarter, ending Sept. 30.

   The company also said that it should meet or exceed third-quarter, per-share after-tax estimates of 47 to 49 cents per share, as well as current Wall Street estimates of 47 cents per share.

   The breakdown of restructuring and other charges are:

   * About $22 million to cancel an information technology project for the company's Fleet Management Solutions business unit. The company said anticipated costs outweighed the short- and long-term benefits of the IT program, and that the anticipated benefits had been realized through other initiatives.

   * A estimated $5-million write-off of license agreements for supply chain management software, which Ryder said “no longer has a viable business or customer application.”

   * About $16 million for the pending shutdown of Ryder's Systemcare, a shared-user home delivery network in the Unite4d Kingdom, and related staff cuts and facility closures.

   * About $7 million to $11 million in charges related to Ryder's ongoing U.S. operations.

   The company said it will release third-quarter results on Oct. 24.