HP Reports Q4 Revenue Higher than Expected

Strong growth in China drove Hewlett-Packard‘s revenue up sequentially for
its fiscal fourth quarter. The technology giant announced revenue of $30.8
billion, down 8 percent from the previous year but up 12 percent sequentially.

Earnings per share were 99 cents compared with 84 cents for the same period a
year ago.

HP announced the preliminary results on Nov. 11, the same day it announced
plans to acquire
networking equipment vendor 3Com for $2.7 billion. HP says it will
announce full results on Nov. 23.

"Solid execution drove exceptional performance for HP this quarter, fueled
by significant growth in China," says Mark Hurd, chairman and CEO of
HP, in a statement. "We are delivering on our strategy and are well
positioned going into 2010."

Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2010, HP says it expects revenue
of between $29.6 billion and $29.9 billion and diluted earnings per share in
the range of 90 cents to 92 cents.

HP estimates for the full fiscal year of 2010, revenue will come in at $118
billion to $119 billion. The estimate represents an increase from the previous
estimate of $117 billion to $118 billion. Full fiscal-year earnings per share is
expected in the range of $3.65 to $3.75, up from the previous estimate of $3.60
to $3.70.