Dell logs record Q3 on surge in PC upgrades

Dell has posted healthy third-quarter results, thanks in part to renewed enterprise spending as the world recovers from recession.

Large enterprise sales rose by 27 per cent to $4.3bn (£2.6bn) over the three-month period, while SME revenues reached $3.7bn (£2.3bn).

Dell said in its Q3 earnings statement that the introduction of new PowerEdge servers, PowerVault storage and PowerConnect networking solutions had contributed to a 40 per cent increase in operating income to $391m (£244m).

Consumer revenues grew four per cent to $3bn (£1.8bn), while public sector sales rose to $4.4bn (£2.7bn).

Dell chairman and chief executive Michael Dell put the successful quarter down to the breadth of the company's offerings.

"Our strong results demonstrate that we are listening to customers and delivering what they want," he said.

"It validates our strategy to offer choice and efficiency at every level of the IT enterprise computing stack, and we are more focused than ever on being a true partner, not merely a provider, to our customers. Dell is growing in the right areas, and I am very excited about our momentum."

Dell has not had a trouble-free year, however. Earlier in 2010 it was suggested that Michael Dell wanted to buy back the firm he set up because he was frustrated with some areas of its business.

Dell chief financial officer Brian Gladden said earlier this month that the company is considering its options, and that "we have lots of cash on hand".

"We talk about everything from keeping everything the same, to doing a bigger and broader buyback while still keeping the company public, all the way to doing a leveraged buyout and taking the company private with Michael Dell as the primary shareholder."

Gladden described Dell as a company undergoing change, a statement backed up by its entry into the tablet market.