In the three-month period ending January 31, HP reported net profit of $484 million (around £340 million), compared to $141 million, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue dropped 8% to $11.4 billion (around £8 billion).
Excluding acquisition-related charges, HP says it earned $564 million (around £400m), or 29 cents per share, down from $812 million (around £573m), or 41 cents per share, a year ago.
HoweverChairwoman and chief executive Carly Fiorina carefully used the earnings report to tout HP’s execution in a tough atmosphere and to lament the company’s holes – notably in business PCs, networked data-storage systems and low-end servers, a hold that would be filled by the company’s planned merger with Compaq.
These results demonstrate we know our business – better than anyone else, she said.
The simple fact is, HP has a lot going for it, but there are also significant areas where a lot more is needed. And with Compaq, we have a detailed plan, not just platitudes, to address them.
