IBM last night reported second quarter earnings of $1.7 billion, sharply higher than the same period a year ago, when the tech giant took a $1.4 billion charge to cover job cuts and the cost of exiting loss-making businesses.
Last year, the company reported a profit of just $56m as it wrote off the restructuring costs.
Nonetheless, profit from continuing operations for the second quarter was up 288% and overall sales from continuing operations increased 10% from the same period in 2002. The net profit of 98 cents a share was in line with Wall Street estimates.
Revenues were $21.6 billion, up 10% in dollar terms and 3% at constant currency compared with the second quarter of 2002 as the weak dollar helped IBM's bottom line.
'Once again, IBM delivered a solid quarter despite the challenging economic environment,' said Samuel Palmisano, IBM chairman and chief executive officer.
