Following a series of dismal earning reports, HP is finally showing signs that it is on the right track. The company today announced its fourth quarter results along with its fiscal year 2013 results.
During the fourth quarter HP managed to take in just over $29 billion. Though this number is 3% lower than its fourth quarter 2012 revenue, the company’s drastic cost-cutting measures over the past year seem to have paid off. HP’s net earnings for the fourth quarter total $1.4 billion, a massive increase over the nearly $7 billion loss HP recorded during the fourth quarter 2012.
It must be pointed out, however, that one year ago HP logged an $8.8 billion impairment charge for the declined value of its Autonomy division. HP accused Autonomy’s former management of accounting fraud and a series of lawsuits stemming from that allegation not yet been settled.
HP’s yearly earnings have followed a similar pattern, with layoffs (29,000 of them) helping to raise earnings despite lower revenue. The absence of billion-dollar write-downs from EDS and Autonomy were also instrumental in raising profit into the black. HP recorded $112.3 billion in revenue this fiscal year, down around 7% from its $120.4 billion taken in fiscal year 2012. Earnings reached $5.1 billion, putting to shame last year’s $12.7 billion fiscal year loss.
“Through improved execution, strong cost management, and with the support of our customers and partners, HP ended fiscal 2013 on a high note,” said Meg Whitman, CEO of HP. “Our Q4 results demonstrate that HP’s turnaround remains on track heading into fiscal 2014. While we still have much more work to do, our business units and their core assets are delivering on HP’s strategy to help customers thrive by providing solutions for the new style of IT.”
All of this combines into enough of a good sign that investors seem to be a bit more confident about HP’s future. The company’s stock has risen over 8% in trading today and appears to be remaining steady near a $27 price point.
