NCR determined the impairment, which it posted effective Jan. 1 , as part of the new goodwill accounting standard that eliminates amortization in lieu of periodic testing. This is NCR's first such test of its goodwill assets.

NCR bought 4Front, a U.K. provider of information-technology services, in October 2000 for $252 million cash.

The impairment charge pushed results for the first six months of 2002 to a loss of $312 million, or $3.18 a share. Without the impairment, six-months earnings would have been $36 million, or 35 cents a diluted share.

Revenue for the first six months fell to $2.63 billion from $2.88 billion.

Also Thursday, NCR reported a second quarter earnings decline and forecast full-year earnings below Wall Street's consensus.

New York Stock Exchange-listed shares recently traded at $23.60, down $2.42, or 9.3%, on volume of 1.8 million shares. Average daily volume is 697,767 shares.