HP REPORTS GOOD 4TH Q. AFTER LAYING-OFF 25,000 WORKERS

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Date: Wednesday November 19, 2008 12:39:09 pm
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    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5isXYe7G5vnTPgUuN1NTHsnFfCxYQD94HDTK82
    HP shares soar after solid 4Q outlook
    NEW
    YORK  — Hewlett-Packard Co. surprised Wall Street on Tuesday by saying
    its earnings will be slightly above analysts’ expectations, going
    against the grain as other technology bellwethers have slashed
    forecasts and posted weak results in the sagging economy.Its shares
    climbed more than 12 percent in morning trading.The Palo Alto,
    Calif.-based computer and printer maker expects earnings of 84 cents
    per share and adjusted earnings of $1.03 per share for the three months
    ended in October. This is slightly better than the $1 per share,
    excluding items, that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting.

    HP
    forecast revenue of $33.6 million, just ahead of analysts’ expectations
    of $33.09 billion.The company, which plans to release full quarterly
    results on Nov. 24, said in a statement that it was benefiting from
    “global reach, diverse customer base, broad portfolio and numerous cost
    initiatives.”HP’s $13.9 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems
    Corp., completed in August, boosted the quarter’s revenue, which grew
    19 percent year-over-year — or 16 percent when adjusted for the effects
    of changing currency exchange rates. Without counting EDS, HP’s revenue
    grew 5 percent, or 2 percent when adjusted for currency effects.

    HP’s
    solid guidance comes as many other bellwethers in the technology sector
    are hunkering down because consumers are businesses are putting off
    spending on PCs and other equipment. Research firm IDC recently cut its
    prediction for growth in worldwide information technology spending to
    2.6 percent in 2009, down from its earlier forecast of a 5.9 percent
    increase.Cisco Systems Inc. warned this month that orders for its
    computer networking gear fell abruptly in October, and said it expects
    sales to fall in the current quarter. Intel Corp., the world’s No. 1
    chip maker, cut its fourth-quarter profit and revenue forecast last
    week because of lower demand.

    Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey
    said HP’s disclosure reflects the company’s diversity and cost-cutting
    abilities rather than broader factors that would lift other hardware
    makers.In the current fiscal quarter, which ends in January, HP
    forecast earnings of 80 to 82 cents per share, with adjusted earnings
    of 93 to 95 cents per share, on sales of $32 billion to $32.5
    billion.Analysts were predicting a profit of 93 cents per share on
    sales of $33.7 billion.Shares jumped $3.40, nearly 12 percent, to
    $32.74 in morning trading Tuesday. The stock was still down roughly 34
    percent year-to-date, compared with about 37 percent for the Dow Jones
    industrial average.

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