HP Sees Revenue Growth In Q1

The company announced late Wednesday that first quarter revenue came in at $11.4 billion, up from $10.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001 but still down from $12.4 billion in last year's first quarter.

Pro forma earnings per share came in at 29 cents for the quarter, better than 19 cents per share in the last quarter of 2001 but lower than 41 cents recorded in last year's first quarter. Including $86 million in charges for costs associated with completed and planned acquisitions, including Bluestone and Compaq, earnings per share were 25 cents.

HP chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina said the results demonstrate HP's ability to stay focused on customers and effectively its business plan despite tough market conditions.

She continued her campaign to promote the company's planned acquisition of Compaq, saying the company has looked at a variety of alternatives and believes the merger is the best way to achieve market leadership, serve customers better and improve profitability.

"I think it's clear we aren't distracted by the merger or the challenge of integration," said Fiorina during the call. "And our customers aren't defecting. Our merger with Compaq has the attributes of mergers that have succeeded."

The analyst call took a somewhat odd turn when Walter Hewlett, who has come out against the merger, sent a release to the media during the call saying that he was happy to see HP performed well in the quarter and that the results prove that the company doesn't need to merge with Compaq. Fiorina responded that HP is in a strong position to take a decisive step for its future.

It's clear that both sides of the debate are trying to spin the positive quarterly results in their favor as the clock ticks down to a deciding vote. The company has set April 1 as a tentative target date for the combined company to begin operations, and a shareholder vote on the issue is set for March 19.