PC giant Hewlett-Packard Co. credited gains from its recent acquisition of rival Compaq Computer on Wednesday for better than expected results in its Q4.
The company posted a profit of $390 million, or 13 cents a share. A year ago the two companies were still separate entities. If their results were combined, it would have resulted in a comparable loss of $505 million, or 17 cents a share (all figures in U.S. dollars).
On a pro forma basis, which excludes a number of items, HP earned $721 million, or 24 cents a share.
On this basis, the consensus forecast of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for earnings per share of only 22 cents.
Sales were almost flat at $18.05 billion, compared with $18.17 billion in last year's Q4, assuming combined operations of HP and Compaq .
However, sales of HP's imaging and printing unit grew 12 per cent to $5.6 billion.
The company also said it will cut an extra 1,100 positions through voluntary measures.
The cuts will mean HP is on track to slash 17,900 jobs by the end of fiscal 2003, more than the 16,800 it forecast in September.
The company's cuts have reached as far as Ottawa. Earlier in the summer, 300 jobs were cut from a Compaq call centre operation in Bells Corners.
HP said cost savings were 30-per-cent greater than it had previously estimated for the first six months after the Compaq purchase.
The company affirmed Wall Street consensus earnings estimates of 27 cents a share on a pro forma basis on sales of $18.4 billion for the first quarter, despite continued weakness in the technology market.
HP acquired Compaq in a $19 billion merger last May.
The company posted a profit of $390 million, or 13 cents a share. A year ago the two companies were still separate entities. If their results were combined, it would have resulted in a comparable loss of $505 million, or 17 cents a share (all figures in U.S. dollars).
On a pro forma basis, which excludes a number of items, HP earned $721 million, or 24 cents a share.
On this basis, the consensus forecast of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for earnings per share of only 22 cents.
Sales were almost flat at $18.05 billion, compared with $18.17 billion in last year's Q4, assuming combined operations of HP and Compaq .
However, sales of HP's imaging and printing unit grew 12 per cent to $5.6 billion.
The company also said it will cut an extra 1,100 positions through voluntary measures.
The cuts will mean HP is on track to slash 17,900 jobs by the end of fiscal 2003, more than the 16,800 it forecast in September.
The company's cuts have reached as far as Ottawa. Earlier in the summer, 300 jobs were cut from a Compaq call centre operation in Bells Corners.
HP said cost savings were 30-per-cent greater than it had previously estimated for the first six months after the Compaq purchase.
The company affirmed Wall Street consensus earnings estimates of 27 cents a share on a pro forma basis on sales of $18.4 billion for the first quarter, despite continued weakness in the technology market.
HP acquired Compaq in a $19 billion merger last May.
