Commenting on some very firm fourth quarter figures – opposite – which were well above market expectations, Dell Computer Corp chairman Michael Dell told Reuters the company’s notebook and server products contributed 19% of fourth quarter revenues, up from 15% in the third quarter. The earnings per share figure of $1.36 compared with a mean Wall Street estimate of 97 cents. Dell said continued momentum in the company’s Pentium-based products andnotebooks drove results. The company’s Latitude notebook computers, for instance, have been very, very well-received, he said, adding that Dell had been able to execute a smooth transition to trouble-free Pentium chips following the furore over the flaw in the earlier parts. Notebooks made up 14% of fourth quarter revenues, up from 9% in the preceding quarter, but Dell said the company’s goal is still to bring that to above 25% of revenues. Europe was strong for the company, with sales on this side of the water jumping 42% in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter, and 33% on last year’s fourth quarter. On inventory levels, Dell said these were at 32 days – that’s days is very, very well-managed, he said. It’s the lowest level we’ve been at for three or four years. The founder of the Austin, Texas company also declared that the balance sheet is robust, with over $425m cash generated from operations over the last 18 months. Later, in a conference call, Dell said that his company’s average revenue per unit on its products rose 11% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, but declined to put an absolute figure on it, but he did say it was the seventh quarter in a row in which the average price per system had risen. I think generally speaking, a robust demand environment like the one we are probably entering with Windows95 and the Pentium cycle suggests that companies are not going to not be driving pricing down, he added.
