HP Revenue Falls on Weak PC Sales
Hewlett-Packard (HP) reported a drop in revenue for the fourth straight quarter, hurt by weak PC sales and lower demand for its services. Chief Executive Meg Whitman said the factors pressuring the PC market were expected to continue through the fourth quarter and well into the next fiscal year.
The company, which has struggled to adapt to mobiles and online computing, is splitting into two listed companies later this year, separating its computer and printer businesses from its faster-growing corporate hardware and services operations.
Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said the company expects to cut more jobs by the end of October.
A decline in PC sales has hurt the company hard — HP has reported a drop in quarterly sales in 15 of the last 16 quarters. The decline in global PC sales was exacerbated in the second quarter of 2015 as customers awaited the release of Windows 10 in July.
As a result, revenue at HP's personal computer and printer businesses, its largest, fell 11.5 percent in the third quarter ended July 31.
Enterprise services division sales dropped 11 percent, while revenue at the enterprise group rose 2 percent.
For the full-year ending October, the company said it expected adjusted profit of $3.59-$3.65 per share.
Total revenue fell 8.1 percent to $25.35 billion in the third quarter, also hurt by a strong dollar.