PALO ALTO, California -- Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday posted better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, citing increased manufacturing efficiency and tight cost controls.
The Palo Alto, California, diversified computer company said earnings for its fiscal first quarter ended 31 January rose to US$960 million, or 92 cents a share on a diluted basis, from $929 million, or 86 cents a share last year.
The earnings were well above Wall Street's consensus estimate of 83 cents a share, according to First Call, which tracks corporate earnings projections.
"We've achieved a good profit outcome despite softness in some of our businesses and weak revenue growth," HP chairman Lewis Platt said in a statement. "Manufacturing efficiencies have risen substantially, and we've kept tight controls on discretionary spending."
Net revenue rose to $11.9 billion from $11.8 billion in the year-ago quarter. Net revenue in the United States declined 2 percent to $5.1 billion, while revenue from outside the United States rose 3 percent to $6.8 billion.
Revenues rose 9 percent in Europe to $4.5 billion, but fell 6 percent in Asia Pacific, Canada, and Latin America to $2.3 billion.
Despite a tough revenue comparison with last year, Platt said many parts of the company -- particularly printers, PCs, and services -- did well.
"Still, we're not meeting our growth objectives. We need to stay sharply focused on stimulating business while remaining sensitive to the need for careful expense management," Platt said.
HP said its V-Class Unix server computers continued to fuel strong growth in the high end of the market. Overall revenue from Unix systems fell from a strong year-ago quarter, due mostly to weakness among mid-range systems, which are currently undergoing a product transition.
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