Failed attempt in tablet market and ousting of chief executive contribute to computer company's woes
Hewlett Packard's fourth-quarter earnings dropped 91% as the troubled information technology company dealt with the fallout from its failed foray into tablet computers and the ousting of its chief executive.
The computer firm has had a turbulent year that led to the firing of chief executive Leo Apotheker in September. In the fourth quarter, the company made $239m (£153m), or 12 cents a share, on earnings of $32.1bn. In the same quarter a year ago, HP reported earnings of $2.5bn, or $1.10 a share, on revenue of $33.3bn.
The figures were hit by the $2.1bn the company paid for restructuring, mainly affecting its webOS business that powered the ill-fated TouchPad. HP's iPad rival was scrapped in August and the company said it would no longer support its Palm Pre line of smart phones as sales failed to take off.
Despite the disappointments, HP's quarterly results exceeded Wall Street's modest expectations. Revenue from the company's services division grew 1.7%, while its enterprise servers, storage and networking segment notched a 4% revenue decline.
Sales in HP's core PC business fell 1.6%. Notebook revenue fell 4.1%, while desktop revenue was up 0.5%. Revenue at the company's printer unit dropped 10%.
Early this year, the company considered shedding its personal computer business, the world's largest, before deciding in October to hold on to it.
Shares in the company edged up 2.4% to $27.50 in extended trading, after shedding more than 4% to close at $26.86 on the New York stock exchange.
Recently appointed chief executive Meg Whitman said 2012 was a "rebuilding year" for HP.
"We need to get back to the business fundamentals in fiscal 2012, including making prudent investments in the business and driving more consistent execution," she said.