HP has reported reduced earnings and profit in the third quarter of its fiscal year on Wednesday but it exceeded analysts' expectations for the period.
Formed last year when its parent Hewlett Packard was split into HP Inc and HPE, the company reported US$11.9 billion in profit, a drop of 4% from the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
Earnings for the three months ending July 31 fell 8% to US$783 million. In the corresponding quarter of the last financial year, earnings were US$854 million.
The net profit from personal systems was flat year-over-year. Commercial net profit fell 3% while consumer net profit increased 8%. Total unit sales increased 4%, with notebooks up 12% and desktop systems down 6%.
{loadposition sam08}The net profit from printing was down 14% year-over-year. Total hardware unit sales were down 10% with commercial hardware units down 2% and consumer hardware units down 14%. Profit from supplies fell by 18%.The printing division generates most of the company's profits.
A company media release quoted Dion Weisler, president and chief executive, as saying: "In Q3, we delivered on our financial commitments and continued to make solid progress in executing against our core, growth and future strategic framework.
"Although the markets remain challenged, we have the innovation and executional rigor needed to continue to take profitable share and invest in the right opportunities to drive long-term success for the company."
HP is the second largest manufacturer of PCs behind Lenovo.