Shares in Dell fell sharply last night after the US computer giant said quarterly net profit declined by 54% and revenue dropped 15%.
The Texas-based company said net profit declined to $337m, or 17 cents a share, in the third quarter from $727m, or 37 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue dipped to $12.9 billion from $15.2 billion a year ago.
Dell's results disappointed Wall Street analysts who had been expecting revenue of $13.18 billion and earnings per share of 28 cents.
Dell chairman and chief executive Michael Dell said there were signs that the computer industry was emerging from its slump. 'We are seeing improvement in overall underlying IT demand that is continuing into the fourth quarter,' he said.
'The launch of Windows 7 is being very well received by small and medium businesses and consumers, and we'll see the benefits of that more fully in our fiscal fourth quarter,' he said. Microsoft launched the new computer operating system last month.
