IBM revenues up 11pc in first quarter


15 Apr 2003

Computer giant IBM’s revenues for the first quarter of this year increased 11pc to US$20.1bn, which the company attributed to its e-business on demand strategy.

The company revealed diluted earnings per common share of US$0.79. First quarter income from operations was US$1.4bn, up 8pc on the previous year’s quarter of US$1.3bn.

IBM’s chairman and CEO, Samuel Palmisano, said that the company continued to gain share in its strategic businesses in the face of an ongoing difficult environment. “Our results demonstrate that our e-business on demand strategy, which draws on IBM’s strengths in business transformation services and open IT infrastructure, is responsive to the needs of our customers. It is exactly this ability to help customers transform their business operations with leadership technology that is at the heart of our on demand strategy, and what sets us apart from our competition.”

Palmisano continued: “IBM Global Services delivered another good quarter with more than US$12bn in signings, our second best performance in a first quarter. Our software business continued to gain share in database and web application servers. IBM eServer xSeries delivered another strong revenue performance, while our pSeries and iSeries servers also grew revenues in the quarter. All three geographic units grew, and our focus on small and medium business is paying off, as we continue to see growing acceptance for our offerings in this important segment.

“Going forward, we are well positioned to set the agenda and help customers transform their enterprises to realise the benefits, efficiencies and productivity gains of e-business on demand,” Palmisano said.

In January, IBM revealed that it will increase its workforce in Dublin by a further 200 people, in addition to the 4,000 already employed in Mulhuddart in a variety of e-business, software development, customer support, manufacturing and research roles.

By John Kennedy