21 January 2002 Hardware vendor Dell has said that consumer PC sales in the final quarter of the year were stronger than expected. The anouncement was made ahead of its fourth quarter and full year results release scheduled for 14 February.
The news follows gloomy reports from many of Dell’s competitors.
Dell said it will report quarterly sales of about $8 billion (€9bn), compared with analyst forecasts of $7.6 billion (€8.6bn). Profit margins will remain stable and net income will also be up slightly compared to the analysts’ consensus projections.
However, the results do not mean a return to the fast growth Dell enjoyed during the 1990s. In comparison to the same period a year earlier, revenues will decline by 8%. In the fourth quarter of 2000, the company reported revenues of $8.7 billion (€9.8bn) and net income of $508 million (€574m).
Dell’s home PC sales will contribute $1.7 billion (€1.9bn) or 21% of the company’s fourth quarter total sales, up from about 15% of revenue in recent quarters, say analysts.
Its comparatively strong fourth quarter consumer sales have helped Dell consolidate its lead over rivals in the cut-throat PC market. According to analysts at IDC, Dell’s worldwide market share in unit shipments rose 2.5% to 14.2% during the final quarter of 2001. Compaq’s share fell 1.7% to 11.2% and HP’s share of the market was unchanged at 8%.
