HPQ HP Inc

By Maria Armental 

An upswing in the personal-computer market helped HP Inc. more than double its profit in the latest quarter, and the company signaled strong growth in technology spending from corporate clients and consumers in 2019.

The printer and personal-computer giant, born from the 2015 split of Hewlett Packard, said its fourth-quarter profit was $1.45 billion, or 91 cents a share, compared with $660 million, or 39 cents a share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, profit rose to 54 cents a share, from 44 cents a share a year earlier.

Revenue rose 10% to $15.34 billion. HP's personal-systems segment, which is the company's largest single segment and includes the PC business, rose 11%. The printing segment, which includes its lucrative supplies business, saw a stronger-than-expected 9% increase in revenue.

Recent data from research firms International Data Corp. and Gartner Inc. have shown a recovering PC market with strong corporate demand, driven by Windows 10 hardware upgrades.

Gartner estimates overall IT spending to increase 3.2% in 2019 and the firm expects the current upgrade cycle to carry on into 2020.

HP, which has been battling with Lenovo Group Ltd. to be the world's largest PC maker, has benefited from that recovery. Dell, another large PC maker, is slated to release its quarterly report after the market closes Thursday.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP has also made key investments, such as last year's acquisition of Samsung Electronics Co.'s printer business that boosted HP's sales in the so-called A3 copier segment. Those types of copiers typically handle larger paper used for posters and photographic prints.

HP has also been investing heavily in 3-D printing, which executives have said they see as a multitrillion-dollar global market.

In the year ended Oct. 31 HP generated $4.2 billion in free cash flow, above its target of at least $3.7 billion. Free cash flow is typically seen as a measure of financial strength.

HP also affirmed its annual profit forecast for the current fiscal year of $2.04 and $2.14 a share, or $2.12 and $2.22 a share on an adjusted basis.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 29, 2018 16:19 ET (21:19 GMT)

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