To: D.J.Smyth who wrote (116980 ) 4/13/1999 11:40:00 AM From: Mohan Marette Respond to of 176388
<Industry news> Hewlett CEO sees quarter,fiscal year growth on track. Darrell: Words to note; Recovery in Asia, Growth on track. Hewlett CEO sees qtr, fiscal year growth on track NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP - news) introduced a new set of high-powered business computers, refreshing a key product line, which its chief executive said will help the company meet its double-digit revenue growth goals for 1999. At a press conference held at the New York Stock Exchange, Chairman and Chief Executive Lewis Platt said Hewlett-Packard was now seeing a recovery in Asia, helping to ensure that growth in the current quarter and year remains on track. ''What we are seeing is a recovery in Asia. Every month we are seeing a sequential recovery in order growth,'' Platt said in response to a reporter's question. The Palo Alto-based company, the world's second-largest computer maker in terms of revenue, has been struggling to boost the paltry revenue growth reported in recent quarters. In the first quarter ended in January, revenues grew only 1 percent companywide, far below the high single-digit growth of rival International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - news) and the strong double-digit growth of Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNW - news) ''Indeed, it appears that it will be,'' Platt said in response to a reporter's question about how revenue growth for the second quarter ending in April compared to its fiscal first quarter. ''We look on plan,'' he said, noting the company's was three-quarters of the way through its quarter. Platt stressed that financial results were expected to be ''back-end loaded,'' meaning that growth in the second half of 1999 would be stronger than in the first half....biz.yahoo.com