HP’s profit falls nearly 44 percent

SAN FRANCISCO |
Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:08am IST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) on Wednesday reported a nearly 44 percent decline in quarterly earnings, hurt by weak sales of PCs and printers.

The Silicon valley company reported net income of $1.47 billion for the fiscal first quarter, or 73 a share, down from $2.6 billion, or $1.17 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, HP earned 92 a share, higher than the average analyst estimate of 87 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell 7 percent to $30 billion, slightly lower than Wall Street’s estimate.

HP saw sales declines in three of its key units – PC, printers and enterprise equipment.

The company’s shares slid lower to around $28.77 in after-hours trading. They shed 1.39 percent in the regular session to close at $28.94 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; editing by Richard Chang and Andre Grenon)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INtechnologyNews/~3/loHVONjfND4/hp-idINDEE81L0LA20120222

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