Hewlett-Packard posted quarterly results last night that topped Wall Street forecasts as losses in its server and storage business narrowed and sales rose in its lucrative printer division.
The company also said it was on track to meet analysts' consensus estimates for the second half of its fiscal year, sending its shares higher in after-hours trading to $18.40 from a close of $17.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.
HP chief executive Ms Carly Fiorina said that there was no sign of a recovery in spending on information technology. "Looking ahead we see no short-term catalysts for improvement in IT spending," she said on a conference call with analysts to discuss results.
But she said the computer and services company had knocked $3.5 billion out of its annual operating costs a year after its controversial acquisition of Compaq.
Operating profit from HP's printing division, its largest and most profitable business, rose from the first quarter. Profits fell in HP's other divisions that were in the black.
HP said the weak US dollar increased its revenues 2 per cent from the first quarter, reflecting a boost to overseas sales.
HP has so far cut 16,600 jobs since it closed the Compaq acquisition and still intends to reach its job cut target of 17,900 positions by the end of the current, third quarter. It plans to end its fiscal year with just under 138,000 employees.