5 things Fujitsu's results reveal about IT industry

IT giant Fujitsu saw net profit for the first half of this fiscal year rise by nearly a third thanks to rising IT investment in some parts of the globe.

The huge Japanese firm recorded a 31.5% increase in profit to $221m on the same period (April to September) last year, while revenue rose 1.9%.

It pointed to large IT investments from Japanese companies, but the second quarter – July to September – saw revenues fall 2.4%, and 4.8% inside Japan.

The results make for interesting reading in what they reveal about current IT trends, and we have picked out the five most interesting facts below.

Europe growth is slow

The report reads: "In Europe, the pace of the recovery is sluggish, with little momentum. In the US, because of an improvement in the jobs environment and other factors, the mild recovery is continuing. The pace of economic growth in emerging market countries appeared to be stalled."

PC market continues decline

Fujitsu blamed that 4.8% fall in native revenue on poor hardware sales as businesses’ appetite for older technologies wanes. But it’s not just a Japanese problem.

The report points out: "Revenue in Japan decreased 4.8% on lower revenue from PCs, server-related products, and mobile phones. Revenue outside of Japan rose 1.3%, but declined by 4% on a constant-currency basis. Revenue from LSI devices, optical transmission systems, electronic components and PCs declined."

System integrators still needed

Fujitsu recorded a temporary increase in demand for system integration services during its second quarter, particularly combined with hardware. But while a great deal of this interest came from the financial sector, public sector interest in this area fell.

Server business drops

Revenue in Fujitsu’s server business fell nearly 12% worldwide on the second half of last year. While the company’s still raking in $1.24bn, it pointed to a lack of large-scale deals that had buoyed this area in 2013.

However, x86 server sales rose in Europe, but a lack of interest from telecom firms in the US saw optical transmissions systems revenue fall.