Dell issues "preliminary" profits report

Dell's delayed financial results have come in ahead of estimates but the PC seller said the figures were "preliminary", pending multiple investigations.

For the period ended 3 November, Dell reported $14.4bn in revenue and net income of $677m, or 30 cents per share. A year ago, it reported then-disappointing revenue of $13.9bn and net income of $606m, or 25 cents per share.

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Dell had been scheduled to report profits last week but postponed the announcement because of the complexity of reporting results while under investigation, it said. At that point, analysts had been expecting revenue of $14.4bn and profits per share of 24 cents.

The company still hasn't filed a quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its second quarter, and it offered no update on when that report would be completed.

Depending on the outcome of the investigations, by the SEC and by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, these numbers might not hold.

Dell said in its profits release: "The preliminary results for the second and third quarters could be affected by any restatements of prior period financial statements that are required as a result of any conclusions reached by the investigations. No determination has been made as to whether restatements of prior period financial statements will be required."

The ominous nature of the "preliminary" tag affixed to the results overshadowed that fact that Dell's quarter was not nearly as bad as some of its other financial performances this year. Server revenue rose to $1.5bn, from $1.4bn a year ago, on 12 per cent growth in units. The company's shipments grew faster than the market during the third calendar quarter, according to figures released on Tuesday by research company Gartner.

In Dell's core PC business, results were more mixed. Mobility revenue was $3.9bn, up from $3.6bn a year ago, with 17 per cent growth in units. But desktop revenue fell from $5.1bn last year to $4.7bn this year, on a decline in shipments of five per cent. The company retreated from the low end of the market to focus on more profitable systems during the quarter, it said.

Dell's overall PC market share plummeted during the third calendar quarter, as HP took back the overall lead by a small margin.

The company's performance around the world was also a mixed bag. Shipments grew 23 per cent in Asia but increased just nine per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In addition, shipments fell four per cent in the Americas, Dell's largest geographic segment by far. Revenue from the Americas was $9.2bn, which was flat compared with last year.

Tom Krazit writes for CNET News.com