Dell Inc.’s quarterly earnings and margins blew past Wall Street’s expectations as component costs slid and corporations replaced aging technology, propelling its shares 6 percent higher.
Dell, which is trying to shed a reputation for specializing in low-margin computers, still pulls in most of its revenue from personal computers. It has benefited from a surge in spending as businesses of all sizes buy equipment after two years of recession.
Shares of Round Rock, Texas-based Dell rose nearly 6 percent, to $14.73, after hours, following a brief trading suspension, from a Nasdaq close of $13.91.
The No. 2 PC maker reported a net profit of $927 million, or 48 cents a share, in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, up from $334 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Dell earned 53 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate of 37 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Its non-GAAP gross margin came in at 21.5 percent, well ahead of analysts’ estimate of 18.6 percent. Revenue rose 5 percent, to $15.7 billion, matching Wall Street’s target.
For fiscal 2012, Dell expects revenue growth of 5 to 9 percent, and non-GAAP operating income growth of 6 to 12 percent.
The quarterly results offered affirmation of Dell’s continuing efforts to turn itself around and boost profitability.
Dell is waging an uphill battle to diversify its revenue base: it wants to become a larger player in the data center equipment market, a provider of IT services, and gain a toehold in the fast-growing mobile space with tablets and smart phones.
But it faces stiff competition from the likes of International Business Machines Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Apple Inc.
how does apple be considered an Enterprise datacenter equipment maker? they aren’t. check your facts (and common sense).
IT insider,
Dell is competing with Apple in this space “gain a toehold in the fast-growing mobile space with tablets and smart phones.” not as an Enterprise datacenter equipment maker. In this case the writer is 100% correct.