HP Forecasts Miss Analyst Estimates on Consumer Sales Slump
August 18, 2011, 4:57 PM EDTBy Aaron Ricadela
(Updates with third-quarter net income in sixth paragraph.)
Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s largest computer maker, forecast fiscal fourth-quarter and full- year earnings that missed analysts’ estimates because of lackluster consumer spending.
Sales for the period ending in October will be $32.1 billion to $32.5 billion, Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett- Packard said in a statement today. That missed the average $34 billion estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Earnings excluding some items will be $1.12 to $1.16 a share, compared with analysts’ $1.31 average estimate.
For the full fiscal year, revenue will be $127.2 billion to $127.6 billion, compared with an average estimate of $129 billion. Earnings excluding some items will be $4.82 to $4.86, missing the average $5 estimate.
Hewlett-Packard confirmed it’s considering a spinoff for its PC business and that it has agreed to buy software maker Autonomy Corp. for $42.11 a share, or $10.3 billion. The company also said it is discontinuing products running WebOS software, including smartphones and tablet computers, and will explore options for that business.
Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker, who took the helm in November, has said he wants to expand in software and so-called cloud services, which help customers perform computing tasks over the Internet. Hewlett-Packard has been aiming to lessen its dependence on PCs, where growth has stalled as consumers flock to smartphones and tablet-style computers like those made by Apple Inc.
Third-quarter net income rose to $1.93 billion, or 93 cents a share, from $1.77 billion, or 75 cents, a year earlier. Profit excluding some items was $1.10, beating the average $1.09 analyst estimate. Revenue rose 1.5 percent to $31.2 billion, matching estimates.
Hewlett-Packard shares fell $1.88, or 6 percent, to $29.51 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has declined 30 percent this year.
--Editors: Lisa Rapaport, Nick Turner
To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Ricadela in San Francisco at aricadela@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
