HP posts $9bn loss as Meg Whitman calls for patience

HP has posted another disappointing financial quarter, confirming losses of $8.9bn for the quarter, amid what the company said is an ongoing restructuring project.

The company on Wednesday posted a five per cent drop in revenues and a nine per cent drop in earnings per share. HP reported that revenues on the quarter were $29.7bn, while net earnings weighed in at $2bn on the quarter.

Chief executive Meg Whitman said that the sagging financial returns were due to a combination of economical and industry downturns as well as what Whitman described as poor "execution" by the company of its plans and goals.

Among the biggest losses for HP were in the PC space. The company estimated that PC revenues were down by some 10 percent over the same period last year. The drop in sales was similar to those posted by rival Dell.

"The reality is we were locked in serious competition battles," said Whitman, "but we are determined to win."

Whitman said that the company was planning a number of new devices, including dedicated PCs and tablets as well as hybrid notebook and tablet systems, to coincide with Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 release.

The company is also looking to continue with a planned overhaul for its Enterprise Services division. Earlier this month the company announced that it would be restructuring its leadership for the division and taking an $8bn goodwill cut.

"Enterprise Services is in a multi-year turnaround and progress will not be linear," Whitman warned analysts.

"We will turn Enterprise Services around, but it will take some time."