Compaq Computer Corp accompanied stunning first quarter figures (see above) with news that it plans to augment manufacturing and distribution capacity at its Scotland, Houston and Singapore facilities to keep pace with surging demand for its personal computers. As reported, it will also open its first Latin American manufacturing facility in Brazil, and its factory in Shenzhen, China will be on line this year. Already this year, Compaq has introduced half as many new products as we did throughout all of 1993, which puts us on track for a record year, said president Eckhard Pfeiffer, adding that the biggest challenge remains meeting high customer demand, he said. Marianne Wolk, a Prudential Securities analyst, said gross profit margins rose to 27.1% of revenues, up from 23.7% in the fourth quarter. That makes them the most profitable company in this industry by a wide margin, she said. Compaq’s net profit margins jumped to 9.4% from 6.9% the previous quarter. The achievement is particularly noteworthy coming in the first quarter, which is usually dull.
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