A downturn in corporate technology spending and merger costs led giant Hewlett-Packard to report a third quarter net loss of just over $2 billion, $116m more than in the same quarter last year.
The company also reported revenues of $16.5 billion, a decline of 9% over the same quarter last year. The company said it saw a per share loss of 67 cents for the third quarter to the end of July 31.
Tuesday's figures represent the first full quarter results from HP since its May acquisition of Compaq following a bitter battle with heirs of HP's co-founders. In most cases, HP combined its totals with Compaq for last year pre-merger results.
Company chief executive Carly Fiorina, while praising the results as an accomplishment, said the company still faced challenges given 'the tough economy' and continuing merger with Compaq. Fiorina said the revenue declines were expected.
She said HP was moving ahead with its scheduled staff cuts. The company has completed its 4,740 'net workforce reductions' and is on track to hit 10,000 layoffs by the end of the fourth quarter, she reported.
