Hewlett-Packard tops Street view as it swings to profit

By John Kell

Hewlett-Packard Co. posted weaker fiscal fourth-quarter sales, the ninth consecutive top-line decline, as the computer maker reported weaker software and printing revenue
Though H-P’s sales dropped across nearly all business segments, the company swung to a profit in the latest quarter, as results last year were stung by an $8.8 billion write-down that the company booked in connection with its acquisition of U.K. software maker Autonomy
Results for the quarter, the first H-P has issued since it was dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, topped analyst expectations. H-P also maintained its profit outlook for the new year
Investors cheered the news, sending shares up 6.6% to $26.72 in after-hours trading
“Our fourth quarter results demonstrate that H-P’s turnaround remains on track heading into fiscal 2014,” President and Chief Executive Meg Whitman said
Though Whitman recently said the company is performing better two years into a half-decade turnaround effort, challenges remain
H-P, which has been late to jump on some technology changes, has also seen its’ personal computer business falter amid surging sales of tablets and mobile devices made by Apple Inc. or powered by Google Inc.’s  Android operating system
For the quarter ended Oct. 31, H-P reported a profit of $1.41 billion, or 73 cents a share, compared with a prior-year loss of $6.85 billion, or $3.49 a share
Revenue slid 2.8% to $29.13 billion
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected an adjusted profit of $1 a share on $27.91 billion in revenue