Vista sees weak Q3 results: Software company Vista Information Solutions Inc said third-quarter sales of its GUS product line will fall short of expectations due mainly to the delayed start of a number of significant long-term contracts. Vista gave no details about the effect of the sales shortfall on earnings for the quarter.The company said in a statement its third-quarter results will include restructuring charges of about $1.5 million to cover personnel reductions, an office closing, a terminated strategic alliance, and consolidation expenses related to recent acquisitions. "The restructuring charges are necessary to properly account for our acquisition activities and the changes we have made to streamline our new operations," said chief financial officer Steve Hamilton. "We expect that the restructuring will have a material positive impact on future earnings starting in the fourth quarter."

Walker board approves stock buyback: Walker Interactive Systems Inc. said that its board of directors has approved the buyback of up to $7.5 million shares of its common stock. "Based on current market prices, we believe that our stock is undervalued and that the repurchase programme is a good investment of available funds," chairman and chief executive Leonard Liu said in a statement. The repurchase programme is expected tocontinue over the next 12 months. At the end of June, the company had about 15.2 million shares outstanding on a diluted basis.

Centris Group sees Q3 loss: Insurance company Centris Group Inc. said it expects to report a loss for its third quarter, due mainly to continuing catastrophe losses, including Hurricane Georges. The company said in a statement that while revenues will grow, it expects to report a loss for the quarter of about $0.10 a share. Analysts had expected the company to report a profit of $0.26 a share for the latest quarter, according to First Call. In the comparable year-ago quarter, the company reported net income of $4 million, or $0.66 a share, on revenues of $59 million. Excluding investment gains, the company had an operating loss of $0.39 a share in the year-ago quarter. "Unusually high catastrophe losses in our property/casualty reinsurance operations, consistent with industry conditions, continued to erode underwriting margins in the third quarter," chairman and chiefexecutive David Cargile said. "This has been the worst year and quarter for catastrophic losses for us since the Northridge earthquake in 1994."