The Xerox Corporation reported a first-quarter net loss yesterday as a one-time charge for litigation wiped out a profit.
The charge for litigation over the withdrawn diet pills, which were once used in the fen-phen combination, amounted to $5.38 billion, or $4.10 a share, after taxes.
The company reported net income rose to $13.3 million, or 25 cents a diluted share, from a profit a year ago of $8.9 million, or 17 cents a share, excluding a $5.2 million charge for litigation.
In the period a year earlier, a charge for litigation, a gain related to divestitures and a gain related to a restructuring estimate change resulted in net income of $459 million, or $1.13 a share.
In an unscheduled announcement to the stock exchange, Barclays revealed the latest charge for "litigation and regulatory penalties" in its investment bank, where it is thought hundreds of jobs are on the line as part of a series of cost-cutting measures being prepared by the chief executive, Antony Jenkins.
The charge for litigation in 2011 was $125 million.
The investment bank made a loss of 329 million in the fourth quarter, hit by restructuring costs, a 220-million-pound charge for litigation and regulatory penalties and a 333 million cost to pay a UK bank levy.
Charges included $1.2 billion for asset write-downs and $474 million in legal charges, mainly for litigation over its hormone replacement medicines.
In return for their efforts in obtaining a satisfactory claim settlement, lawyers take part of the recovery, though many involved in the BP litigation say they are not charging for the no-documentation quick-pay settlements.
Mediators usually charge for their services, but any costs are likely to be cheaper than long and drawn-out litigation.
