Dell profit up 46 percent due to cheaper components
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(InfoWorld) - Just two weeks afterÂ revealing that some employees had falsified corporate revenue to meet earnings targets, Dell reported a profit of $733 million for its fiscal 2008 second quarter, up 46 percent from its mark of $502 million for the same period last year. The strong result was driven by sales to enterprise customers, an increase in the selling prices of Dell PCs, and a drop in component costs, the company said. Dell recorded revenue of $14.8 billion for the quarter ending Aug. 3, generating earnings of $0.32 per share. Both figures were above Wall Street expectations of $14.63 billion revenue and $0.30 earnings per share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. However, Dell warned investors to be cautious when comparing the figures to past quarters because the company plans to restate its earnings for the past four years. Dell plans to revise its quarterly and annual financial statements for fiscal 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and the first quarter of 2007. The company also plans to share a number of earnings reports it delayed filing during its internal investigation of the accounting fraud, including the last three quarters of fiscal 2007 and the first quarter of fiscal 2008. The Nasdaq stock market has given Dell a deadline of Nov. 12 to file those reports in order to meet requirements for a publicly traded stock. In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to continue its own investigation of Dell's bookkeeping practices. Dell's accounting problems were more than a mere distraction, costing the company $59 million to pay for its internal audit over the past quarter. Also detracting from its profit was $102 million in stock option payments, the company said. Despite its troubles, Dell is making progress on a long-term plan to reduce its operating expenses, CEO Michael Dell said in a statement. The company will do that through layoffs, improved productivity, and investments in its infrastructure. In May,Â Dell announced it would lay off 8,800 people, about 10 percent of its workforce. Over the past quarter, the company has made a series of acquisitions, includingÂ ASAP Software, SilverBack Technologies, andÂ Zing Systems. In recent months, Dell has also made a major change in its business plan by augmenting its online direct-sales model with deals to sell its PCs through retail partners such as Wal-Mart in North America and South America, Bic CameraÂ in Japan, and Carphone Warehouse in the U.K.
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Dell Inc., the world's second-largest personal-computer maker, posted fourth-quarter profit and sales that trailed analysts' reduced estimates after the company lost customers to rivals over the holidays.
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Dell, the world's largest personal computer maker, Thursday posted sales just shy of Wall Street expectations as profit excluding a tax-related charge topped analysts' forecasts.
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Dell Inc. said that an increase in sales to corporations led to record revenue in the fourth quarter, although profit slipped because of a one-time tax charge.
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And ex-CEO grabbing bank Dell posted healthy sales and profit for its fiscal second quarter, spurred by favorable market conditions, including higher average selling prices and lower component costs.â¦
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SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE  - Dell Inc. DELL.O on  Thursday reported a higher quarterly operating profit, but slow  holiday sales and a new growth target that disappointed Wall  Street sent its shares down 3 percent.
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(InfoWorld) - PC vendors reported global shipment growth of 12.5 percent in the second quarter as every major vendor except Dell posted a double-digit percentage increase in unit shipments compared to the same period last year, according to a report released Wednesday by IDC. Dell shipped 4.9 percent fewer PCs during the quarter than it did in 2006 as the company continued to struggle with a corporate restructuring effort that has included deep job cuts, changes in executive leadership, and a new strategy of selling computers through retail channels instead of only online. In contrast, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) consolidated its position as the world's largest PC vendor with unit shipment growth of 36.5 percent. Overall, vendors sold 58.8 million PCs in the quarter, IDC said. A report released on the same day by Gartner showed similar results with Dell sliding 5.5 percent compared to HP's growth of 36.6 percent. Gartner reported that global PC shipments rose 11.7 percent to 61.1 million units. HP is seeing good results because of a multifaceted approach that allows the company to concentrate its sales efforts on new regions if sales slump in another sector, said David Daoud, manager of the personal computing and PC tracker programs at IDC. "They are not putting all their eggs in a single basket," he said. "That is the result for a company that has adopted a multifaceted approach. PC shipments were slightly better than expected in the U.S., but they have done even better outside the U.S. in emerging markets and western Europe. So they can manage multiple regions." Despite the contrast in trends, none of the top five vendors changed their worldwide rankings by market share. For the quarter, HP claimed the top spot with 19.3 percent of global PC sales volume, leading Dell with 16.1 percent, Lenovo with 8.3 percent, Acer with 7.2 percent and Toshiba with 4.1 percent, according to IDC. The Gartner study showed the same rankings. However, Acer could soon begin to climb the rankings, if its success continues. The company improved its PC shipment volume by 55.4 percent in the second quarter, pulling close behind Lenovo, which grew at 22.3 percent. "Acer is laser-focused on particular segments, especially SMB and channel resellers," Daoud said. "They are just plowing." In the U.S., Acer is only the sixth-biggest PC vendor but showed the fastest rise in shipments, improving by 163.8 percent over the second quarter of 2006. Overall, the U.S. market is lead by Dell with 28.4 percent market share by shipments, then HP with 23.6 percent, Gateway and Apple with 5.6 percent each, Toshiba with 5.3 percent, and Acer with 5.2 percent. IDC counts PC shipments including sales of desktops, notebooks, ultraportables, and x86 servers, but not handhelds. Overall, the global market achieved its 12.5 percent shipment growth in the quarter thanks to good activity in the Asia-Pacific region and to slightly better than expected activity in the U.S., Daoud said. That growth rate was higher than the first quarter, when shipments rose 10.9 percent over that period in the previous year, and higher than the second quarter of 2006, when shipments rose 9.7 percent year on year. For the future, consumers continue to buy notebooks instead of desktops as the cost premium between the two models has narrowed to its smallest differential yet. IDC forecast strong growth in the second half of 2007 but said that market competition will be more complex than just cutting prices. Instead, PC vendors will try to get customers' attention with system design, customer service, channel coverage, and market expansion.
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Quarterly net income was $46.3 million against a year-earlier loss, but sales continued to fall at the retailer amid intense competition in the electronics sector.
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U.S. stocks rose slightly after the open on Wednesday on news computer maker Dell Inc.  reported better-than-expected preliminary earnings, boosting technology shares.
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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Dell Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit rose 25 percent from a year earlier as the No. 1 personal-computer maker boosted sales of its PCs, laptops and other gear by 18 percent.
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Dell Inc. , the world's second-largest personal computer maker, on Thursday reported quarterly earnings per share that topped Wall Street's average estimate, though revenue was short of expectations.
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DALLAS ---- Dell 's fourth--quarter profits plunged 33 percent because of weak sales of laptops and notebooks, and the personal computer maker still faces an unresolved federal accounting probe, customer service complaints, several shareholder lawsuits and stiff competition from rivals.
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Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.&#39;s (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) quarterly profit jumped 46 percent from a year ago on strong memory chip earnings, but fell
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U.S. stock index futures pointed higher on Wednesday after Dell Inc.  reported better-than-expected earnings, setting the stage for gains by technology shares a day before the Thanksgiving holiday.
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US technology stocks rose, led by Dell Inc., as the company&#39;s chief executive officer said demand at the world&#39;s No. 1 personal-computer maker is ``healthy.
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Intel said its quarterly profit rose 45% to $1.3 billion, as low chip prices were offset by strong unit shipments.
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Dell Inc.  on Thursday reported a higher quarterly operating profit, but slow holiday sales and a new growth target that disappointed Wall Street sent its shares down 3 percent.