Reporting plummeting quarterly profits, US ATM manufacturer Diebold has pulled the plug on plans to build a new headquarters in Ohio, deciding the $100 million outlay is "not economically feasible".
In January Diebold signed a purchase agreement for 55 acres of land in Green, Ohio, on which it planned to build a new global headquarters.
It now says it is suspending the plans indefinitely and has no intention to build a site in Ohio or anywhere else, committing to its current location, also in Green. The various state and local financial incentives it was previously offered will be declined.
"As we've been analysing our near- and long-term growth priorities, it has become clear that investing more than $100 million in a headquarters facility is not economically feasible given the other priorities for the business at this time," says Thomas Swidarski, president and CEO, Diebold.
The company says money is better spent on things like the recent acquisitions of businesses in Brazil and Turkey, as well as IT and services infrastructure, software and global shared services.
But the decision also comes as disappointing third quarter results are published. Revenues were up slightly at $709.9 million but net income fell from $41.8 million, or 65 cents a diluted share, in Q3 2011 to just $17.4 million, or 27 cents per diluted share.
Blaming project delays in Brazil and mix shift in North America, the firm has slashed its full year earnings per share guidance from $2.31 - $2.44, to $1.91 - $1.99.