Hewlett-Packard (HP) has reported third-quarter revenues of US$20.8bn, an increase of 10pc year over year, as new chief executive Mark Hurd executes a strategy aimed at driving further performance improvements.
The company reported an operating profit of US$1.2bn with earnings per share of 36 cents, up from 24 cents a year ago.
“We executed well in the third quarter with double-digit revenue growth, solid margin improvements in key segments and strong cash flow,” said Hurd. “I’m encouraged by what we have achieved to date and we are focused on driving further performance improvements.”
During the quarter, on a year-over-year basis, revenue in the Americas grew 8pc to US$9.0bn, EMEA grew 10pc to US$8.2bn and Asia Pacific grew 15pc to US$3.5bn. On a consolidated basis, when adjusted for the effects of currency, third-quarter revenue grew 7pc year over year.
HP’s Personal Systems Group (PSG) revenue grew 8pc year over year to US$6.4bn, with unit shipments up 14pc. On a year-over-year basis, desktop revenue decreased 3pc and notebook revenue grew 21pc. Revenue for commercial clients, which includes workstations, grew 6pc over the prior-year period, while revenue in consumer clients grew 8pc. PSG reported an operating profit of US$163m, or 2.6pc of revenue, up from a profit of US$23m in the prior-year period.
The company’s Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) posted quarterly revenue of US$5.9bn, up 5pc year over year. On a year-over-year basis, consumer hardware revenue increased 1pc, with unit shipments up 8pc. Commercial hardware revenue grew 5pc, with unit shipments up 12pc. Color-laser unit shipments increased 31pc year over year and multifunction printer shipments increased 67pc, reflecting continued momentum in key growth initiatives. Supplies revenue grew 6pc. Operating profit was US$771m, or 13.0pc of revenue, down from a profit of US$836m in the prior-year period.
HP’s Enterprise Storage and Servers business reported revenues of US$4bn, up 20pc over the year ago period, while HP’s Services business grew 10pc year over year to US$3.8bn.
HP estimates fourth-quarter revenue will be in the range of US$22.4bn to US$22.8bn, with earnings per share in the range of 44 cents to 47 cents.
By John Kennedy
