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HP sees PC sales surge despite global slump

The vendor defies the worldwide downward trend in personal computer shipments
  • Reuters (ARN)
  • 23 February, 2018 09:42

HP has reported first-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street estimates as it sold more personal computers and printers, helping the company raise its full-year profit forecast.

Shares of the company, which houses the hardware business of former Hewlett-Packard, rose 5.3 per cent to US$22.53 after the bell.

The company said it expects fiscal 2018 earnings per share to be in the range of US$1.90 to US$2.00, up from US$1.75 to US$1.85. That number was above the average analyst estimate of US$1.81 per share.

HP’s personal systems business, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the company's total revenue, rose nearly 15 per cent to US$9.44 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of US$8.50 billion.

Despite a shrinking PC market in the United States and internationally, the company continued to pick up market share, after toppling Lenovo last year from the top position globally, according to research firm Gartner.

Going forward, companies such as HP is expected to benefit from demand for better quality in personal computers.

According to a Gartner report, PC buyers will look for quality and functionality rather than lower prices, which will increase average selling prices of PCs and improve profitability in the long run.

The Palo Alto, California-based company, which completed the acquisition of Samsung Electronics’ printer business last year, said revenue from its printer business rose 13.7 per cent to US$5.08 billion, above the average analyst estimate of US$4.76 billion.

Net earnings rose to US$1.94 billion, or US$1.16 per share, in the quarter ended 31 January, from US$611 million, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier, benefiting from a one-time tax gain of US$1.03 billion.

Revenue rose 14.5 per cent to US$14.52 billion. Excluding items, the company earned 48 cents per share.

Analysts on average were expecting 42 cents per share and revenue of US$13.49 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)