HP Posts 3Q Profit Jumps 14 Percent To $2.03B

Palo Alto, CA (AHN) - Hewlett-Packard Tuesday announced third-quarter profits rose 14 percent to $2.03 billion, up from $1.78 billion a year ago. Sales also were up, climbing 10 percent to $28.03 billion from $25.38 billion for the same period in 2007.

Laptop sales bore the most credit, rising 26 percent during the third quarter to boost HP's PC business to $10.25 billion. The upswing in computers balanced consumer printing income which fell 14 percent and an overall printing business that crept up only three percent, compared to the previous year.

Software sales also made headlines, earning HP $781 million - a 29 percent jump from last year. Blade servers also grew 66 percent.

HP, headed by Mark Hurd, also announced Tuesday it believes this quarter will show revenue between $30.2 billion and $30.3 billion.