In an official statement dated August 20th, Hewlett-Packard Co. posted its first sales growth in 12 quarters. The company reported fiscal third-quarter sales that surpassed analysts estimates due to improving sales of personal computers.
Ms. Whitman said in an interview for the Wall Street Journal: “Im proud of the change in the trajectory of revenue. Were excited about that.” as reported by the Financial Times, she also said: “Now that we have repaired the balance sheet M&A will be part of our strategy, but let me assure you that this will be returns based [and] focused on only things we cannot do organically.”
According to HPs statement, revenue rose by 1.3% and reached $27.6 billion over the third fiscal quarter ended July 31st. The company announced that its profit excluding some items amounted to 89 cents. The results matched analysts initial forecasts of 89 cents per share and beat sales projection of $27 billion. The company did not post a forecast for its full-year revenue.
The net income for the quarter declined by 29% from $1.39 billion, or 71 cents a year ago, to $985 million, or 52 cents per share. A restructuring charge, which was estimated to $649 million was taken by the company during the quarter. For the current three months, Hewlett-Packard Co. expects a profit excluding items in the range from $1.03 to $1.07. This projection corresponded with the analysts estimates of $1.05.
Still, Ms. Whitman warned that HPs revenue growth may not last. She explained that it might be hard to surpass the companys strong financial results during the fiscal fourth quarter last year.
In addition, the revenue increase posted by the company was due to a rise in the companys computer sales, which surged by 12% year-on-year. However, sales at other divisions decreased or marked only minor growth. Hewlett-Packard Co. reported a 5% fall in software revenue, while its enterprise services sales decreased by 6%. Sales in the enterprise-computing group, which makes servers and other equipment sold primarily to businesses, rose 1.9%.
The company reported that it has managed to increase its market share, but still, the entire PC market has been negatively affected by increasing demand for smartphones and tablets.
One of the analysts, who work at Edward Jones – Mr. Bill Kreher commented on Hewlett-Packards results in a statement, cited by Bloomberg: “The company is in this longer-term shift toward services and software, and neither of those divisions grew. This isn’t necessarily consistent with the long-term plan.”
Hewlett-Packard Co. fell by 1.01% on Wednesday in New York to close at $35.12 per share, marking a one-year change of +35.91%. The company is valued at $66.40 billion. According to CNN Money, the 25 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Hewlett-Packard Co. have a median target of $36.80, with a high estimate of $43.40 and a low estimate of $30.00. The median estimate represents a +4.78% increase from the last price of $35.12.
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