Hewlett-Packard Co admitted yesterday that net profits at its German subsidiary fell last year but asserts that they will grow faster than the market in 1997. Profits after tax slipped to $74.4m, down 9.9%, but in 1995, earnings benefited from tax bonuses that were not available in 1996. In Europe and in Germany market developments have been rather moderate since the middle of last year, the company said, management is confident that this year Hewlett-Packard will again grow more strongly than the market. As a result of a transfer of accounting for internal sales to the Hewlett-Packard Europe headquarters in the Netherlands, sales in Germany declined 6.6% to $4.86bn.
