Compaq Computer Corp’s first quarter earnings were better than the highest of Wall Street estimates and some analysts said that if it were not for a negative impact from currency translations, profits would have been a bit higher still. Compaq reported first quarter earnings of $1.23 a share, and the highest estimate on Wall Street was $1.20 a share, according to First Call. Needless to say, sales were a record at $1,600m. They were fabulous numbers, said Marianne Wolk, a Prudential Securities analyst told Reuter. It was so strong that they hit my March 1994 revenue estimate. Compaq said operating expenses as a percentage of revenues were 13.4% for the first quarter, a record low. Compaq said demand is very high for its new generation of personal computers, launched in March, and the new generation of ProLinea and the Contura notebook line are backlogged with resellers. It said that during the quarter it greatly improved product delivery time to its resellers, and recorded the highest volume quarter in its history. When it first launched the Prolinea last summer, Compaq had a hard time meeting demand for the box. Worldwide unit volumes in the quarter more than tripled from levels in the first quarter of 1992, and expenses are firmly under control, it said.The Houston company said it was closely managing gross margins and tightly controlling expenses.
