Dell credits enterprise sales for strong quarter

Dell reported net income for the quarter of $545m

Dell cited strong enterprise sales in reporting a 22 per cent jump in revenues and an 11 per cent increase in operating income for its second financial quarter.

Dell reported net income for the quarter of $545m (£350m) on revenues of $15.5bn (£9.98bn), representing earnings per share of $0.28 (18p).

Chief executive Michael Dell said that the company had posted particularly strong results in the business space. Large enterprise sales were up 38 per cent, while small and medium enterprise sales rose 25 per cent.

"We continue to strengthen our portfolio of datacentre solutions at an aggressive pace with the addition of key intellectual property, talent and technology," said Dell.

"This quarter's results are a strong reflection of the progress we've made, and we remain very focused on delivering the best possible solutions and services to meet our customers' IT needs."

Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, told V3.co.uk that the figures indicate an enterprise market investing in new systems for the first time in several years.

Despite the strong sales, however, Enderle said that Dell's long-term viability could lie in the development of next-generation devices. Much like fellow vendors HP and Microsoft, the analyst believes that Dell lacks a "halo" product.

"Dell has yet to bring out a product that knocks people's socks off," he said. "It needs something to make people say: 'yes, I want to buy that.'"

The latest vote to elect Dell's board of directors revealed that a quarter of shareholders are disillusioned with chief executive and founder Michael Dell.