diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/poi/ss/formula/FormulaParser.java b/src/java/org/apache/poi/ss/formula/FormulaParser.java
index adb4bd877..46d7fbfee 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/poi/ss/formula/FormulaParser.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/poi/ss/formula/FormulaParser.java
@@ -1091,10 +1091,10 @@ public final class FormulaParser {
 				return new ParseNode(ErrPtg.valueOf(parseErrorLiteral()));
 			case '-':
 				Match('-');
-				return new ParseNode(UnaryMinusPtg.instance, powerFactor());
+				return parseUnary(false);
 			case '+':
 				Match('+');
-				return new ParseNode(UnaryPlusPtg.instance, powerFactor());
+				return parseUnary(true);
 			case '(':
 				Match('(');
 				ParseNode inside = comparisonExpression();
@@ -1118,6 +1118,35 @@ public final class FormulaParser {
 	}
 
 
+	private ParseNode parseUnary(boolean isPlus) {
+
+		boolean numberFollows = IsDigit(look) || look=='.';
+		ParseNode factor = powerFactor();
+
+		if (numberFollows) {
+			// + or - directly next to a number is parsed with the number
+
+			Ptg token = factor.getToken();
+			if (token instanceof NumberPtg) {
+				if (isPlus) {
+					return factor;
+				}
+				token = new NumberPtg(-((NumberPtg)token).getValue());
+				return new ParseNode(token);
+			}
+			if (token instanceof IntPtg) {
+				if (isPlus) {
+					return factor;
+				}
+				int intVal = ((IntPtg)token).getValue();
+				// note - cannot use IntPtg for negatives
+				token = new NumberPtg(-intVal);
+				return new ParseNode(token);
+			}
+		}
+		return new ParseNode(isPlus ? UnaryPlusPtg.instance : UnaryMinusPtg.instance, factor);
+	}
+
 	private ParseNode parseArray() {
 		List<Object[]> rowsData = new ArrayList<Object[]>();
 		while(true) {
diff --git a/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/hssf/model/TestFormulaParser.java b/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/hssf/model/TestFormulaParser.java
index 76dce58da..cdf42e07f 100644
--- a/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/hssf/model/TestFormulaParser.java
+++ b/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/hssf/model/TestFormulaParser.java
@@ -187,6 +187,43 @@ public final class TestFormulaParser extends TestCase {
 		confirmTokenClasses("+A1", RefPtg.class, UnaryPlusPtg.class);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * There may be multiple ways to encode an expression involving {@link UnaryPlusPtg}
+	 * or {@link UnaryMinusPtg}.  These may be perfectly equivalent from a formula
+	 * evaluation perspective, or formula rendering.  However, differences in the way
+	 * POI encodes formulas may cause unnecessary confusion.  These non-critical tests
+	 * check that POI follows the same encoding rules as Excel.
+	 */
+	public void testExactEncodingOfUnaryPlusAndMinus() {
+		// as tested in Excel:
+		confirmUnary("-3", -3, NumberPtg.class);
+		confirmUnary("--4", -4, NumberPtg.class, UnaryMinusPtg.class);
+		confirmUnary("+++5", 5, IntPtg.class, UnaryPlusPtg.class, UnaryPlusPtg.class);
+		confirmUnary("++-6", -6, NumberPtg.class, UnaryPlusPtg.class, UnaryPlusPtg.class);
+
+		// Spaces muck things up a bit.  It would be clearer why the following cases are
+		// reasonable if POI encoded tAttrSpace in the right places.
+		// Otherwise these differences look capricious.
+		confirmUnary("+ 12", 12, IntPtg.class, UnaryPlusPtg.class);
+		confirmUnary("- 13", 13, IntPtg.class, UnaryMinusPtg.class);
+	}
+
+	private static void confirmUnary(String formulaText, double val, Class<?>...expectedTokenTypes) {
+		Ptg[] ptgs = parseFormula(formulaText);
+		confirmTokenClasses(ptgs, expectedTokenTypes);
+		Ptg ptg0 = ptgs[0];
+		if (ptg0 instanceof IntPtg) {
+			IntPtg intPtg = (IntPtg) ptg0;
+			assertEquals((int)val, intPtg.getValue());
+		} else if (ptg0 instanceof NumberPtg) {
+			NumberPtg numberPtg = (NumberPtg) ptg0;
+			assertEquals(val, numberPtg.getValue(), 0.0);
+		} else {
+			fail("bad ptg0 " + ptg0);
+		}
+	}
+
+
 	public void testLeadingSpaceInString() {
 		String value = "  hi  ";
 		Ptg[] ptgs = parseFormula("\"" + value + "\"");
@@ -325,7 +362,7 @@ public final class TestFormulaParser extends TestCase {
 
 		cell.setCellFormula("+.1");
 		formula = cell.getCellFormula();
-		assertEquals("+0.1", formula);
+		assertEquals("0.1", formula);
 
 		cell.setCellFormula("-.1");
 		formula = cell.getCellFormula();