Hewlett-Packard, the largest personal-computer maker, on Wednesday reported a profit of $1.1 billion in the February-April time period, a decline of 32 per cent from the same period last year.
The Silicon Valley technology enterprise had sales of $27.6 billion during the period, a 10-per-cent decline, and equals to 87 cents a share excluding certain items. Analysts had predicted 81 cents per share, according to Bloomberg news.
The company has cut costs to counter slumping demand for desktops and laptops. It will shed 29,000 employees through the end of fiscal 2014 to save as much as $3.5 billion a year as demand for PCs declines in light of the popularity of tablets and smartphones.
Costs fell 8.8 per cent last quarter and profits from Hewlett-Packard’s printing business increased, a sign that a turnaround overseen by Chief Executive Meg Whitman is making headway.
The company predicted that earnings excluding some items will be 84 cents to 87 cents a share in the third period, which extends through July.
Sales at the division that includes PCs dropped 20 per cent to $7.58 billion last quarter. Across the industry PC shipments plummeted 14 per cent in the first quarter, according to researcher International Data Corporation.