However, this growth was driven primarily by HP's Personal Systems division, which comprises workstations, notebooks, desktops, while its global Printing division revenues dipped by 3% year-on-year.
Personal Systems accounts for almost twice as much turnover as Printing, but Printing – which comprises supplies, commercial hardware and consumer hardware – remains the highest-margin segment of the business, with operating margins averaging 16%, compared with just 3.8% in Personal Systems.
Q1 2017 was the first time HP recognised revenue from its Multi Jet Fusion range of 3D printers – although the financial results did not specify a figure for these sales.
In the Printing segment, net revenue dropped from $4.6bn to $4.4bn and profits fell from $787m to $716m in Q1 2016. Supplies is the biggest chunk of sales in the division at just over $3bn (down 3% year-on-year), compared with commercial hardware at $886m (up 2%) and consumer hardware at $590m (up 7%).
The EMEA region accounts of 35% of HP’s global sales, and grew by 6% year-on-year.
In its ‘key messages’, HP announced that it had gained one point of market share in the value of multi-function laser printers; it registered gains in market share in design and large-format industrial printers, and its Managed Print Services revenue and new total contract value saw double-digit growth when adjusted for foreign exchange fluctuations.
This is the second consecutive quarter in whicj the company’s turnover has increased, after several consecutive quarters of negative growth. It has returned $613m to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends.
In the notes to the accounts, HP explained that at the beginning of the first quarter of the fiscal year, the company made a change to better align its business unit financial reporting with its business structure. This resulted in the transfer of a portion of LaserJet printers from commercial to consumer within the Printing segment.
Dion Weisler, president and chief executive of HP, said that in Q1 the company delivered earnings at the high end of its predictions, driven by “relentless execution and innovation”.
“We are confident in our ability to manage our business and deliver our full-year financial commitments,” he said.
Hewlett-Packard was split into HP Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company in November 2015.
