科技英语新闻:HP quarterly profit plunges 90 percent

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) on Monday reported that its profit in the most recent quarter fell more than 90 percent with sales also declining.

In the company's fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 ended Oct. 31, the company posted net earnings of 239 million U.S. dollars, compared with 2.54 billion dollars in the same period a year earlier.

HP's net revenue for the quarter reached 32.1 billion dollars, down 3 percent year-on-year.

Excluding one-time items, HP earned 1.17 dollars per share, which topped estimates of analysts.

According to Thomson Reuters, analysts had expected earnings of 1.13 dollars per share on revenue of 32.05 billion dollars.

It was the first earnings report since Meg Whitman took over as chief executive officer (CEO) of the information technology giant on Sept. 22, replacing Leo Apotheker.

"HP has a great opportunity to build on our strong hardware, software, and services franchises with leading market positions, customer relationships, and intellectual property," Whitman said in a statement after the earnings announcement.

"We need to get back to the business fundamentals in fiscal 2012, including making prudent investments in the business and driving more consistent execution," she added.