Dell quarterly results close to Wall Street estimates
updated 06:45 pm EST, Thu November 15, 2012
Home market falls 11 percent, desktop and mobility down 19
Dell's fiscal 2013 third quarter results were announced today. Earnings came in slightly below analyst estimates, with revenue of $13.7 billion (compared to an expected $13.89 billion), operating income of $589 million, and GAAP earnings of $0.27 per share. Highlights of the report include server and networking revenue increasing by 11 percent, large enterprise revenue falling eight percent, and general public revenue dropping 11 percent. However, profits were off by 47 percent, in part due to declining PC sales.
"We are consistently executing our end-to-end solutions strategy for the benefit of our customers," said Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO. "In the quarter, we completed the acquisition of Quest Software which – along with other recent acquisitions like SonicWALL and Wyse – adds leading management, security, virtualization and cloud capabilities to our expanding portfolio of powerful solutions."
"In a difficult global IT spending environment we saw solid proof points that demonstrate progress in our strategy," said Brian Gladden, Dell CFO. "A highlight has been the strong progress of our newly introduced servers, with our server and networking business up 11 percent. We’re also encouraged by early interest in our new Windows 8 touch portfolio and the opportunities it creates for our commercial and consumer businesses."
Specific technologies noted in the statement are desktop and mobility revenue down 19 percent, with desktops holding share. Services fell one percent, with storage revenue also falling three percent. Dell's server division climbed four percent. The increase in the server and networking business marks the 12th consecutive quarter of growth for that sector.
Dell expects to see a quarterly growth of between two and five percent. For the full fiscal year, Dell expects $1.70 in earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis, which includes the financial impact of the Quest acquisition.
