HP Sales Up, Profits Down

Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday reported revenue of $11.7 billion for its first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, more than half of which came from sales outside the United States. Overall sales were up 14% from the same period last year, while net income was down 10% at $794 million after factoring in one-time costs, including the spin-off of Agilent Technologies Inc.

HP's $6.7 billion in sales outside the United States made up 57% of the company's business, with the fastest growth coming in the Asia-Pacific region. That region reported 46% growth to $1.6 billion in sales. Europe grew at 7% to $4.3 billion, which compares with U.S. growth of 12% and sales of $5 billion.

Much of the sales growth came in consumer products such as printers, scanners, and cameras. Consumer sales grew 30% compared with a year ago, the company reported.

CEO Carly Fiorina says the company continues its commitments to cut costs while increasing research and development in such key areas as Unix, IA-64, and high-end servers.