Share prices for HP rose by 2.8pc following results that exceeded analysts’ expectations, with a rise of US$2.7bn or 10pc in third-quarter revenue since the same time last year to reach US$28bn.
Part of this successful third quarter can be attributed to the healthy growth in notebook sales, which rose by 26pc year-on-year, as well as desktop revenue rising by 6pc – no mean feat considering desktop PC sales were forecast to be a no-grow area this year.
This overall growth has led to a 15pc year-over-year rise in revenue to US$10.3bn within HP’s Personal Systems Group, which saw a makeover earlier this year with the launch of the new TouchSmart desktop and ultra-slim Voodoo Envy notebook amongst others in the new ‘making the PC personal again’ campaign.
Looking to HP’s Imaging and Printing Group, revenue in this area grew 3pc year-on-year to US$7bn, although within this group consumer hardware revenue declined by 14pc, while consumer printer hardware units saw no growth at all.
Meanwhile, HP’s revenue from software grew 29pc on last year, mostly due to interest in its Business Technology Optimsation software offerings.
“Our global position, broad product and services offerings and incremental cost saving opportunities make us confident that we’ll continue to meaningfully expand earnings,” said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and chief executive officer, and it looks like HP mean this with projected fourth-quarter revenue of approximately US$30.2bn to US$30.3bn on the cards.
By Marie Boran
Pictured: HP’s new TouchSmart all-in-one PC
