HP CEO expects revenue stability in 2014; shares rise 5 per cent
Hewlett Packard Co chief executive Meg Whitman expects revenue to stabilise in 2014 with "pockets of growth" before the business accelerates again in 2015, sending the stock up as much as 9.5 per cent on Wednesday.
Whitman's comments to analysts at an annual investor briefing eased Wall Street's concerns about her multiyear turnaround program. They helped the shares recoup some of their 20-per cent loss since August, when the CEO warned that growth in 2014 was unlikely.
HP's shares were up about 5 per cent at $21.75 at mid-day. That's still down from $25.38 in mid-August, when Whitman delivered her warning.
"Fiscal 2014 will be a pivotal year," she told analysts gathered in San Jose. "In fiscal 2015, you can still expect to see acceleration, and in fiscal 2016, an industry-leading company."
The chief executive further said that in 2014, the company expects "total revenue to stabilise and start driving new pockets of growth".
There has also been progress generating cash flow and stabilizing some parts of HP's business such as Enterprise Services, Whitman said. The company generated a total of about $7 billion in free cash flow through the fiscal third quarter of 2013, she said.
Whitman, who took the helm of HP in 2011 after a failed bid to become governor of California, inherited a company ravaged by board shake-ups and executive departures, and a bureaucracy unable to respond quickly enough to changes in the industry.
'Maniacal focus' on clients
Two years into what she has always described as a five-year effort, sales and profits are still sliding, and Wall Street is losing patience. The stock has lost more than half its value since 2010.
Whitman said that when she joined HP, operations were in disarray, with the sales team lacking modern tools and an information-technology infrastructure.
While HP's massive but stagnant printer division made money, the personal computer business has been contracting as more customers switch to tablets and mobile devices. Whitman wants to turn HP into a major player in the corporate technology services market, now dominated by Oracle Corp, International Business Machines Corp and Cisco Systems Inc.
"This time last year I was feeling HP was falling dangerously behind," Ms Whitman said.
"Our business units lacked a clear, crisp integrated strategy. Our innovation pipeline was there but wasn't being commercialised."
"In 2013 we started to change that," she added. "Our multiyear journey continues. I am comfortable with the progress we are making."
Whitman, who has been known to take a hands-on approach with corporate customer, stressed again the need for a "maniacal focus" on engaging and listening to clients.
"This year alone I met with close to 1,000 customers and partners," Whitman said.
Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2013
