HP revenues surprise market

HP reported a 10 per cent jump in revenue over the most recent quarter, while Net income based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was $73m, down 88 per cent from last year when the firm recorded $586m in GAAP net income.

The results exceeded analysts' expectations.

The income drop was largely due to a one time tax charge of $790m as a result of cash repatriation. The limited time tax plan allows US companies to bring profits from overseas back to the US at a discounted tax rate. The move gives the company more financial flexibility, HP's chief executive Mark Hurd said in a conference call.

HP last month started a corporate structuring and said it will lay off 14,500 workers. Hurd claimed victory by posting both a revenue increase while kicking off the mass layoffs. 

"We stayed focused on delivering a strong quarterly performance and we launched a significant restructuring," said Hurd.

The company's core business units showed revenue growth.

The personal systems group that sells both laptop and desktop computers sold 14 per cent more units with a combined value of $6.4bn. A strong interest in laptop computers offset a small decline in desktop units.

HP wasn't hurt by pricing pressures to the extent that Dell reported last week.

Hurd touted HP's strategy of focusing on sales with high profit margins rather than market share. "You can look at share and try to use that as a surrogate for success. We want to be in a position where we're doing the responsible thing in terms of balancing share and our ability to drive a profitable business," said Hurd.

The printer and imaging division's sales were $5.9bn, up 5 per cent year-over-year. Colour laser printers and multi-function units both showed growth of 31 and 67 per cent respectively.

Server and storage sales increased 20 per cent to $4.0 bn. The storage business recovered after posting weak results in the previous quarter, which Hurd back then blamed on a lack of a dedicated salesforce. 

The other problem area in the last quarter was software. Although sales of the OpenView and OpenCall management products combined increased by 11 per cent, the unit lost $40m relative to $48m last year.