Computer manufacturing giant
Dell has revealed a decline in its fourth quarter net income, despite posting an increase in revenue. The
laptop PC manufacturer saw its net income fall by 4.84 per cent in its fourth quarter, from $351 million to $334 million. This decline coincided with a fall in gross profit, which fell from 17.2 per cent to 16.6 per cent from the same quarter of the last fiscal year.
There was some more positive news for Dell, whose total revenues increased to $14.9 billion, up by 11 per cent on the same quarter 12 months ago. The increase was largely driven by growth in developing countries, with a 72 per cent increase in revenue in
Brazil,
Russia,
India and
China .
Revenue improved in all four of the company’s business segments – public, consumers, large enterprise, and small and medium business. Furthermore, Dell said that demand rose amongst commercial businesses, prompting ‘cautiously optimistic’ forecasts for the next financial year.
The news follows positive results from
Hewlett Packard, meaning Dell has some catching up to do. It is hoped that the new M11x
netbook, which has the specifications of a powerful
notebook, could help to drive Dell’s sales for the next quarter.