Dell has reported results for its third quarter of fiscal year 2008, with revenue up nine percent year-over-year to a record $15.6 billion, operating income up 13 percent to $829 million, and earnings per share of 34 cents, a 26 percent increase over the prior year.
Cash from operations totaled $1 billion, while cash and marketable securities at the end of the quarter were $14.6 billion. The company plans to resume its share repurchase program in early December.
"We embarked this year on a long-term strategy to re-ignite growth and our Q3 results indicate we're making solid progress through investments in five key business priorities - consumer, emerging countries, notebooks, enterprise and small/medium business," said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO. "Initiatives to simplify IT will drive innovation across all industries, creating new value for customers and shareholders. For consumers we will continue to launch products that set the bar for design, personalization, and price performance - and we will make them available in more places than ever before."
All comparisons in this article are year-over-year unless otherwise noted.
Profitability
Operating profit benefited from strength in mobility, solid demand in enterprise products and a continued favorable component-cost environment. These benefits were largely offset by costs the company is incurring as it restructures to improve productivity and execution, reduce headcount where appropriate, and invest in infrastructure and key growth priorities. For example, the company incurred $50 million, or two cents per share, related to employee reductions and asset disposals. In addition, the company incurred $28 million, or one cent per share related to the Audit Committee investigation which was concluded during the quarter and other related costs. Earnings for the quarter were positively impacted by an adjustment of $45 million, or two cents per share, to lower the company's effective tax rate for the year primarily because of a larger-than-expected mix of profits from outside the U.S.
"Our strong cash flow in the quarter demonstrates we are taking the right actions to create value. We are committed to a growth strategy that includes acquisitions as well as a long-term share repurchase plan, as we transition cash and investments to lower levels while retaining financial flexibility," said Don Carty, vice chairman and CFO, Dell.
Regional and Product Highlights
Revenue for the Americas business, which includes corporate and public customers in the U.S., as well as Americas international, was up seven percent. The company maintained its number-one position in the U.S. commercial segment, with 34 percent of all units shipped
Americas International, which includes Latin America and Canada, had revenue growth of 19 percent year-over-year with 45 percent growth in Brazil. In addition, a Forrester Research survey released earlier this month called Dell "clearly the number one enterprise desktop and laptop supplier" to North American and European enterprises. The survey of 565 PC decision makers also showed that Dell in Q3 held "its sizable lead over the second-closest competitor" across the regions and company sizes in both product segments.
In Asia-Pacific and Japan, where the company is actively expanding its presence, revenue in the quarter grew by 18 percent on a 20 percent increase in units. Highlights in the region include India and China where revenue grew 47 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
Revenue increased 14 percent and shipments were up 13 percent in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Revenue for servers and storage in the region were up 15 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Sales outside the United States were up 16 percent and represented 46 percent of the company's overall revenue, reflecting continued strength in emerging countries.
Globally, revenue from mobility products increased 19 percent on a 25 percent increase in units. Revenue from both servers and storage grew eight percent and shipments of servers increased seven percent. Enhanced services revenue grew seven percent to $1.4 billion. Desktop PC revenue declined one percent as the industry continues to shift towards mobility. Software and peripherals revenue posted an increase of 11 percent.
Key Business Priorities
Consumer: While revenue for Dell's U.S. consumer business declined six percent, the business segment made strong progress against key initiatives, including new product design, channels, product personalization and mobility. Consumers will be able to buy Dell products in nearly 10,000 stores including Gome, China's largest consumer electronics retailer, and Staples' 1,400 stores across the U.S. During the quarter, Dell closed the acquisition of ZING Systems Inc., a consumer technology and services company focused on always-connected audio and entertainment devices.
Emerging Countries: China, Brazil and India registered strong unit growth of 26, 30 and 42 percent, respectively. Combined Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) revenue growth during the quarter was 32 percent. The company plans to continue its initiative of tailoring solutions to meet specific regional needs, enhancing partner relationships to provide customer choice and flexibility, and expansion into these and other emerging countries that represent 85 percent of the world's population.
Notebooks: Notebooks are expected to grow at six times the rate of desktop systems for the next several years, and Dell plans to increase the speed with which it introduces new products, while lowering costs and tailoring mobile devices for specific customer segments. The Dell XPS M1330 notebook was labeled a "dream machine" in Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2007 issue earlier this month.
Enterprise: Dell unveiled multiple products and marketing initiatives to help customers simplify IT. These included new virtualization technologies that embed Citrix's XenServer on future PowerEdge servers, allowing customers to install and manage virtual machines almost immediately upon start up. On Demand Desktop Streaming will simplify desktop administration and management by combining all the benefits of traditional thin clients with the performance of standard desktops. Dell also completed the acquisition of Silverback Technologies, growing its Software As A Service (SaaS) IT monitoring and management capabilities.
Small/Medium Business: New products for the SMB market included the PowerVault MD3000i which simplifies storage consolidation. In this, the fastest growing segment of the storage market - iSCSI, Dell also announced the planned acquisition of EqualLogic.
Company Outlook
The company continues to focus on strategic priorities that will provide better value to customers while driving a more optimal balance of liquidity, profitability and growth. As the company executes against these priorities it will continue to incur costs as it restructures to improve productivity and execution, reduce headcount where appropriate, and invest in infrastructure and acquisitions. These actions, which the company believes are necessary to drive long-term sustainable value, may adversely impact the company's performance. In addition, the company's near term results could be adversely impacted by a slower decline in component costs and a seasonal shift in mix to U.S. consumer and international regions.
About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.dell.com, or to communicate directly with Dell via a variety of online channels, go to www.dell.com/conversations. To get Dell news direct, visit www.dell.com/RSS.
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