AP) -- IBM says its third-quarter earnings remained unchanged from a year ago despite an unexpected charge and a steeper drop in revenue than analysts anticipated.

The results announced Tuesday included a charge that the technology company took to account for a U.K. court decision that will increase its costs for paying pensions to some of its retired employees.

IBM Corp. earned $3.8 billion, or $3.33 per share, in the July-September period. The company delivered the same net income a year ago, but its per-share earnings were 14 cents lower last year because the company had more outstanding stock then.

Revenue for the quarter fell 5 percent from last year to $24.7 billion. That figure was about $1 billion below analyst projections.