HP reports falling sales but print profit up

31 August 2022

Business

Lores: "We are taking clear actions to mitigate near-term market headwinds"

HP has reported that its sales for Q3 fell by 4% year-on-year and 11% on the previous quarter, with profits also down overall but up in its printing segment.

In results released yesterday (30 August), the manufacturer recorded total sales of $14.7bn (£12.6bn) for the three-month period to 31 July 2022, down from $15.3bn at the same stage a year ago.

Revenue in the firm’s printing division (including office, consumer and graphics) was down 6% year-on-year, from $4.88bn to $4.58bn. It was down by 8% on the previous quarter’s figure of $4.96bn.

HP’s commercial hardware sales (which includes graphics solutions and 3D printing), was down by 3% year-on-year from $1.07bn to $1.04bn. It was also down by 1% on the previous quarter.

Consumer hardware sales bucked the trend to climb by 1% year-on-year, from $720m to $725m, but this was down 8% on the previous quarter’s figure of $790m. Q3 sales of supplies, the largest part of the division by revenue, were down 9% year-on-year to $2.81bn and down 10% on the previous quarter’s figure of $3.13bn.

HP’s personal systems division, its largest operation comprising workstations, notebooks, desktops and other, saw net revenue drop by 3% year-on-year to $10.1bn and by 13% on the previous quarter’s figure of $11.5bn.

The company’s Q3 net earnings climbed from $1.11bn, or 92 cents per share, a year ago, to $1.12bn, or $1.08 per share.

Profits in its printing segment jumped by 6.3% year-on-year, from $857m to $911m, but this was down on the $958m recorded in Q2. Profits in personal systems, meanwhile, declined by 20% from $869m to $695m. This was also down on the previous quarter, where a figure of $798m was reported.

HP’s overall profits dropped by 9.4% year-on-year, from $1.33bn to $1.2bn, and this was also down on the $1.24bn figure recorded in Q2.

HP president and chief executive Enrique Lores said: “Disciplined pricing and cost management, combined with continued momentum in our key growth businesses, enabled us to deliver solid non-GAAP EPS growth while returning $1.3bn to shareholders in Q3.

“We are taking clear actions to mitigate near-term market headwinds and further strengthen our business for the future. I’m confident in our ability to execute against our priorities to drive long-term sustainable growth and value creation.”

HP Inc’s share price closed at $31.10 yesterday, down 1.36% on Monday’s close.