16 May 2003 Dell Computer is continuing to outgrow the rest of the computer industry, increasing unit shipments by 29% in the quarter to 2 May, at a time when worldwide PC shipments grew by just 2%.

Revenues rose by 18% to $9.53 billion, compared to $8.07 billion posted in the same period a year earlier. At the same time, net income rose by 31% from $457 million to $598 million.

Chief operating officer Kevin Rollins said that the company had tried to counter the decline in corporate IT spending by targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and consumers instead. In particular, its SME focus enabled it to increase server unit shipments by 40%, said Rollins.

However, Rollins saw no sign of an impending uptick in IT spending by major corporates. “We’re hopeful, but we haven’t seen a big uptick in that corporate market,” he said.

Dell’s strong financial results were driven by a combination of factors: continued price pressure on rivals, which has enabled it to capture market share and rapid expansion in Europe and Asia, particularly in Japan where unit sales increased 40%.

This was allied with a continued tight control on expenditure, which declined marginally as a percentage of total sales.

As a result, its nearest rival in the PC market, Hewlett-Packard, fell further behind in the first quarter of the calendar year, according to analysts IDC. While Dell consolidated its market lead with a share of 17.3%, HP slipped to 15.8%, after briefly capturing market leadership following its acquisition of Compaq.