Electronic Data Misses 1st-Quarter Forecasts

Electronic Data Systems Corp. said first-quarter sales rose 7.1%, less than forecast, as customers of the world’s second-largest computer services company held off on closing contracts.

Net income fell 25% to $354million, or 72 cents a share. Sales rose to $5.34 billion, trailing analysts’ estimates of $5.7billion.

Shares of Electronic Data, based in Plano, Texas, fell $1.90 to $51.30 on the NYSE before the earnings report and dipped an additional 30 cents in after-hours trading.