HP CEO Calls for Better Storage

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) announced third-quarter results yesterday, posting revenues of $20.8 billion, up 10 percent on the same period last year. But despite beating analyst estimates, CEO Mark Hurd is still concerned about the companys storage business (see HP Reports Q3).

The troubled vendor is currently in the throes of a major reorganization as Hurd attempts to get some of the firm's underperforming business units back on track (see It's Hurd for HP and High Hopes in Palo Alto).

And this has not been without bloodshed. Last month, Hurd announced plans to slash nearly 10 percent of HP’s global workforce (see HP to Lay Off 10 Percent and HP Outlines Restructuring).

It may take awhile to effect positive change. HP’s third-quarter profits felt the impact of a tax adjustment after the firm opted to repatriate $14.5 billion in cash from foreign earnings in the third and fourth quarters. The vendor’s net earnings were cut to $73 million, or 3 cents per share, down from $586 million, or 19 cents per share, in the same period last year.

However, the company’s non-GAAP net earnings were $1.06 billion, or 36 cents per share, compared to $728 million, or 24 cents per share, in the third quarter of last year. Analysts had projected earnings of 31 cents.