By QUENTIN HARDY
Published: August 21, 2013
Hewlett-Packard Sales Drop as PC Demand Wanes
SAN FRANCISCO — The long slide in sales of personal computers and tough competition are taking a toll on Hewlett-Packard.
H.P. had third quarter revenue below the expectations of Wall Street analysts.
On Wednesday, H.P. reported net income in the third fiscal quarter of $1.39 billion, or 71 cents a share. A year ago, H.P. reported a loss of $8.9 billion, based on a write-down of various assets. Excluding those charges, H.P. posted profit of 98 cents a share.
The company said revenue fell 8 percent to $27.2 billion, from $29.7 billion a year ago.
“I remain confident that we are making progress in our turnaround,” Meg Whitman, H.P.'s chief executive, said in a statement accompanying the earnings. “We are already seeing significant improvement in our operations.”
H.P., the world’s largest maker of personal computers, printers and computer servers, has struggled for years in the face of weakening consumer demand. Other technology companies, including Oracle and Cisco, have also recently warned of poor demand from emerging markets.
“It’s possible she’s saying ‘I have more credibility as a leader now, and I need to shake things up,' ” said Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst with Bernstein Research. “Revenue growth across the company has been very weak.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/technology/hewlett-packard-sales-drop-as-pc-demand-wanes.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130822&_r=0
