Falling global PC sales mean Meg Whitman has a pessimistic outlook for HP.

Whitman’s pessimistic outlook comes as the firm reported an 8% decline in revenue for the quarter ending 31 July, from a year ago.

Falling global PC sales as customers switch to smartphones and tablets and a rise in competition from firms like China’s Lenovo have seen HP struggle over the past months.

"What has changed about 2014’s outlook is a couple of things – Enterprise Group’s performance especially during the quarter," Ms Whitman told analysts during a conference call after the results.

"Weak execution has amplified the market challenges we know exist. It’s unlikely… that we’ll see the growth in 2014 that I had hoped," she added.

HP reported a net profit of $1.4bn (£890m) for the quarter, reversing a loss of $8.9bn during the same period last year.