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To: H James Morris who wrote (50138)	4/13/1999 7:47:00 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Ummm.... Do you think that a Stanford boy would get caught with his pants down? No comment.... remember I was witness to "the play"....

To: H James Morris who wrote (50138)	4/13/1999 8:36:00 PM
From: GST	Respond to of 164684

H James -- Looks like HWP caught with pants down... Tuesday April 13, 8:05 pm Eastern Time FOCUS-Hewlett CEO backpedals on bullish comments (new throughout, with retraction of CEO's comments on revenue goals for 1999, adds byline, updates stock price) By Eric Auchard NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP - news) Chief Executive Lewis Platt caused a stir on Wall Street on Tuesday when he said his company could see revenue growth of 10 percent or higher in 1999, only to retract his comments later. Platt told reporters at a breakfast meeting at the New York Stock Exchange that the company's goal for its fiscal year ending October 1999 was to generate double-digit revenue growth, or better than 10 percent over fiscal 1998. By contrast, the company, the world's No. 2 computer maker measured in total revenues, posted revenue growth of 1 percent for its first fiscal quarter ended in January 1999. He indicated he was comfortable the Palo Alto, Calif.-company could achieve the double-digit goal, aided in part by a refreshed product line of high-powered business computers it unveiled at a news conference later Tuesday. ''We still think there's a pretty good chance at double-digit growth,'' Platt said. In particular he pointed to a recovery in H-P's business in Asia in recent months and gains across its printer, personal computer and server segments. The bullish remarks surprised Wall Street analysts, who had previously expected far less from Hewlett-Packard, one of the 30 components that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Brokerage analysts have estimated the company will grow at a rate of about 6 to 8 percent during the current fiscal year, which would mark steady improvement from the first quarter's 1 percent growth rate and the fourth quarter's 4 percent rate. Buoyed by the new product introduction and his bullish outlook, Hewlett-Packard stock climbed $2.44 to close at $70.81 in composite U.S. stock market trading Tuesday, after his remarks were widely reported by financial wire services. However, the company later backpedaled. An investor relations spokesman said Platt's comments appeared to refer to the expected growth in the second-half of the year, which would offset the slower growth experienced early in the year. After the close of the stock market, the company issued a press release which presented a different explanation that it said ''clarified'' Platt's comments. Hewlett-Packard said its top executive's remarks about double-digit growth pertained to the company's expected shipments of personal computers this year, and not to the entire company results. The company's statement said it expected overall revenues to grow at the 6 to 8 percent rate this year, or consistent with analysts' expectations. Platt was in New York to herald the company's new generation of high-powered business computers designed to run both on its own UNIX computer chips and a new category of computer chip it is co-developing with Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news) The company's new HP 9000 N-Class machines represent the high-volume part of Hewlett's server business computer product line-up, and contribute about 60 percent of server revenues. The older line of K-Class computers that the new machines replace have generated about $6 billion in the three-and-a-half years since they were introduced, said Nick Earle, the chief marketing officer of the company's corporate computing unit. Earle estimated that the new N-Class machines could produce more than $10 billion in revenues for Hewlett over the next four years. Another $30 billion in sales of connected products, like software and data storage -- or $40 billion in all -- are expected to result from sales of combined solutions, he said. The new machines are designed for use by businesses handling massive flows of information such as Internet service providers, or companies using the Internet to link to suppliers or customers in order to perform electronic commerce.