HP enjoys strong third quarter despite fears of downturn

Hewlett-Packard has posted a year-on-year 10% increase in sales and 20% increase in operating profits for the third quarter, despite concerns that the PC industry could be hit by the economic downturn.

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For the third quarter ended 31 July, HP said sales reached £14bn and its operating profit was £1.25bn.

"By accelerating our enterprise growth and executing well across the portfolio, HP delivered a strong third-quarter performance," said HP CEO Mark Hurd.

"Our global position, broad product and services offerings and incremental cost saving opportunities make us confident that we'll continue to meaningfully expand earnings," he said.

HP's PC division saw sales grow 15% year-over-year, with unit shipments up 20% on a year-over-year basis.

Notebook revenue for the quarter grew 26% over the previous year, while desktop revenue increased 6%.

Commercial client revenue grew 15% year-over-year, while consumer client revenue increased 17%.

According to analysts, HP is still ahead of Dell when it comes to the number of PCs shipped worldwide.

The company's acquisition of services firm EDS is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

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