HEWLETT Packard has reported a 31 per cent increase in after tax profit in the first quarter of 1996 to $790 million (£500 million). The company, which plans to employ 1,150 people in a new manufacturing plant in Leixlip, Co Kildare, reported a 29 per cent increase in orders to $10.1 billion and a 27 per cent rise in turnover to $9.3 billion.

Mr Brian Keenan, general manager of Hewlett Packard Ireland, said orders in Ireland were running 36 per cent ahead of the same period last year. The company has already employed 200 people for its new Leixlip plant and production will begin in spring at a temporary facility in Blanchardstown.