Only a week after announcing the departure of CEO Carly Fiorina, computer and printer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) has reported record revenues of US$21.5bn, up 10pc on the year. The company reported an operating profit of US$1.3bn driven by strong revenue growth in its PC and services business.
“HP had a solid first quarter, highlighted by strong growth and profit in our personal systems group, strong revenue growth in our Services business and cash flow from operations of US$1.6bn,” said Robert Wayman, HP acting CEO and chief financial officer.
“While we continue to make progress in growing our top line, there is work to be done to improve our profitability. As the board conducts a CEO search, our management team is focused on driving improved execution to serve our customers, strengthen our competitiveness and improve shareholder value,” Wayman said.
During the quarter, on a year-over-year basis revenue in EMEA grew 12pc to US$9.3bn, in the Americas grew 6pc to US$8.9bn and in Asia Pacific/Japan grew 15pc to US$3.3bn. On a consolidated basis, when adjusted for the effects of currency, first-quarter 2005 revenue grew 5pc year over year.
The Imaging and Personal Systems Group (IPSG), which was formed in mid-January, consists of the Personal Systems Group and the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG). IPSG reported first quarter revenue of US$12.9bn, up 7pc year over year. Operating profit for the first quarter totaled US$1.1bn, or 8.3pc of revenue, compared to US$1.0bn, or 8.5pc of revenue, in the prior year period.
HP’s IPG posted quarterly revenue of US$6.1bn, up 3pc year over year. On a year-over-year basis, supplies revenue grew 8pc, fuelled by strong growth in color printing. Commercial hardware revenue grew 4pc, driven by strength in color laser, multifunction printers and digital press. Consumer hardware revenue decreased 13pc. During the quarter, HP shipped 12 million printers. IPG reported an operating profit of US$932m, or 15.4pc of revenue, down US$35m year over year.
The Technology Solutions Group consists of Enterprise Storage and Servers, Software and HP Services. The group reported revenue of US$8.1bn, up 14pc from the prior year period. Operating profit for the quarter totaled US$312m, or 3.9pc of revenue, down from US$365m, or 5.2pc of revenue, year over year.
By John Kennedy
