Technology giant IBM reaped fourth-quarter revenues of US$29.3bn in 2012, a decrease from US$29.4bn in the year-ago period.
Fourth-quarter net income increased, however, to US$5.8bn, from US$5.5bn in the fourth-quarter of 2011, and operating (non-GAAP) net income also rose, by 10pc, to US$6.1bn, compared with US$5.6bn in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The company’s reported fourth-quarter 2012 diluted earnings of US$5.13 per share, an increase of 11pc from US$4.62 per share in the year-ago period.
Operating (non-GAAP) diluted earnings totalled US$5.39 per share, compared with operating diluted earnings of US$4.71 per share in Q4 2011, an increase of 14pc.
Q4 revenue in IBM’s geographic regions
Worldwide, IBM four-quarter revenues for the Americas amounted to US$12.5bn, flat (an increase of 1pc, adjusting for currency) from the 2011 period.
Revenues from Europe/Middle East/Africa reached US$9.1bn, down 5pc (down 3pc, adjusting for currency).
Asia-Pacific revenues increased 4pc (up 5pc, adjusting for currency) to US$7.0bn.
“We achieved record profit, earnings per share and free cash flow in 2012,” said Virginia Rometty, IBM chairman, president and CEO.
“Our performance in the fourth quarter and for the full year was driven by our strategic growth initiatives – growth markets, analytics, cloud computing, Smarter Planet solutions – which support our continued shift to higher-value businesses.”
Rometty added that IBM will continue to invest to deliver innovations for the enterprise in key areas, such as big data, mobile solutions, social business and security, while expanding into new markets and reaching new clients.
“We are well on track toward our long-term road map for operating EPS of at least US$20 in 2015,” Rometty added.