Don Ke nobi
/ 83.5.222.* / 2009-08-19 13:12
Hewlett Packard ma problemy.
Without the stunning growth of the computer services business, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s other business segments are still suffering in the global economic downturn.
H-P's /quotes/comstock/13*!hpq/quotes/nls/hpq (HPQ 44.01, +0.90, +2.09%) fiscal third-quarter earnings, which took place during part of a sluggish summer, showed that sales growth of its software business fell even further from the previous quarter. Revenue and profit margins of its personal computer business may be getting hurt by the popularity of the low-cost netbooks. See full story.
For example, H-P's software sales, once a growth segment, have fallen in the last three quarters. But the fiscal third quarter saw the sharpest drop. Software revenue fell 22%, after falling 15% in fiscal second quarter, and 7% in the first quarter. Software also has a tough comparison with the third quarter in 2008, when software revenue jumped 29%. Rival tech giant IBM /quotes/comstock/13*!ibm/quotes/nls/ibm (IBM 117.64, +0.78, +0.67%) saw its software revenue fall only 7% in its recently ended quarter.
The PC business is not doing much better. While the business did see a 2% increase in unit shipments and kept its slot as No.1 PC maker worldwide, total revenue for group fell 18% and operating profit fell to $386 million, down from $587 million in the year-ago period. Lower prices and lower-profit netbooks are the likely suspects.