Hewlett-Packard has revised down its assets by $8.8 billion due to accounting irregularities in the software company Autonomy, recorded before its acquisition by the giant computer maker group, information that led to HP shares drop 6.6% in electronic transactions. HP announced accused the company recently bought for over $10 billion of “a willful effort by Autonomy to mislead shareholders.”
PC sales continued to have a negative evolution in the fiscal fourth quarter, and revenue fell 6.7% to $29.96 billion, while analysts expected a revenue of $30.4 billion, according to a Bloomberg article on Tuesday.
The company recorded a net loss of $6.85 billion in the fourth quarter due to the revision of the $8.8 billion in assets, compared to a net income of $239 million in the same period last year. The profit, excluding exceptional items, was $1.16 per share, above analysts’ expectations of $1.14. For the first fiscal quarter which ends in January 2013, HP anticipates a profit of 68-71 cents a share, below analysts’ estimates of 85 cents, because of declining PC sales.
The HP group, which was once a source of inventions and largest manufacturer of PCs worldwide are affected by lower sales and lagged behind in the development of mobile devices and cloud computing products.
The $8.8 billion writedown had affected the technology stocks on Wall Street at a time of relative optimism on the rebound of the U.S. housing market. HP (NYSE:HPQ) stock dropped today 12%, closing at $11.71, a 10-year low, as the investors rushed to sell their shares in HP. Analysts at UBS downgraded Intel from “buy” to “neutral as the PC shipment slows down.
Total PC market will contract by 1.2% to 348.7 million units this year, the first annual decline recorded since 2001, according to market analysis company IHS iSuppli. Dell reported a few days ago a decrease of 11% of its revenue in the third quarter and a decline in PC sales by 19% due to competition from tablet PC makers.
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