Demand drops
It no longer comes as any surprise to see technology companies, or any companies, report a drop in year-on-year earnings and yesterday was no exception.
Giant tech vendor HP and tech distributors Ingram Micro and Northamber all reported yesterday and all revealed falls, with the common theme being reduced demand.
HP actually managed to increase its revenue by one percent to $28.8 billion, but profit was down 13 percent to $1.9 billion. There was actually a revenue drop across all sectors of HP's business except services and even this was primarily due to the acquisition of EDS.
"HP is a market leader executing well in a tough market," said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and CEO. "Our market strength, disciplined cost management and diverse portfolio allowed us to differentiate HP in the global marketplace and gain share in key markets."
Ingram Micro's sales dropped 13 percent, which it blamed on currency fluctuations and week demand. Ingram reported a loss of $564.3 million compared to a profit of $114.1 million a year ago, but this included a $659.8 million goodwill impairment charge due to a drop of around a third in its share price over the past year.
Finally it's been reported that Northamber has released an unaudited interim statement for the six months ended 31 December 2008, which reveal a loss for that period of £240,000 compared to a profit of £291 million for the same period a year ago.
