NCR move a ‘consolidation play’

NCR, the Duluth technology company that is moving to Midtown, does not expect to pay for its new $260 million headquarters until it moves in 2018.

The company expects its operating lease on the building to be less than its cost for existing facilities, NCR Chief Financial Officer Bob Fishman said in a Tuesday conference call with investors. He called the move a “consolidation play.”

Payments won’t start until NCR occupies the building, Fishman said.

NCR announced last month its plan to move 3,600 workers to Technology Square near Georgia Tech. It said at the time that it intended to keep a second campus in the northern Atlanta suburbs. A spokesman said that plan has not changed.

NCR moved its headquarters to Gwinnett County from Ohio in 2009. The company, which makes ATM and self-service checkout machines, is trying to transform into more of a software-as-a-service business.

Gil Luria, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said if the move helps the company cut costs, investors will be pleased. NCR has not been doing well, he said.

“They just finished their year without any growth,” Luria said.

NCR made $195 million in 2014, a 56.4 percent decrease from its 2013 profits.