$1.5 billion loss for CSC on U.K. project

Computer Sciences Corp. estimated a $1.5 billion loss in investing in a failed electronic patient-record contract with the United Kingdom's National Health Service, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (PDF).

CSC, based in Falls Church, Va., continues talks with the NHS over delivering services to the NHS. The company estimates its investment in the contract as of November at $1.5 billion, according to a revised current report filed with the SEC reflecting the failed NHS contract. That figure could change, depending on how CSC and the NHS negotiate, according to the filing. The contract was agreed to in May, but in November the NHS told CSC the agreement wouldn't be fulfilled.

The U.K. government in September killed plans for a national health information technology network for all of its residents. In October, CSC was hit with a class-action lawsuit claiming the company knew it wouldn't be able to make good on a 10-year, $5.4 billion contract to build an NHS software platform for electronic records.