HP Forecasts a Good 2018 for Profit
October 12 2017 - 8:28PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Armental and Rachael King
HP Inc. expects 2018 to be another good year, with profit
projections beating Wall Street expectations, and it's pledging to
continue to return most of its cash to shareholders.
The high return rate, in the form of dividends and share
buybacks, has driven the company's shares through leaner times.
On Thursday, HP said it expects to generate at least $3 billion
in free cash flow, the amount remaining after capital expenditures,
and pledged to continue passing on to shareholders 50% to 75% of
that money.
The board also approved a 5% increase in the quarterly
dividend.
Over all, HP expects profit to reach $1.69 to $1.79 a share next
year, or $1.74 to $1.84 on an adjusted basis, compared with
analysts' projected $1.66 a share, or $1.76 a share on an adjusted
basis.
The company has been gaining market share in world-wide PC
shipments, and battling for the title of largest maker of personal
computers with Lenovo Group Ltd., while focusing on higher-profit
segments like gaming and convertible laptops.
"Our business is focused on driving profitable share," Chief
Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said on a conference call Thursday.
"There is no question this is good, strong, profitable share."
Chief Executive Dion Weisler said, "If you were to roll the
tapes back to my very first security analyst meeting five years
ago, I stood on stage and said, we don't take share for share's
sake. That's something that's like prime directive across this
organization."
Formed in 2015, HP is the PC-and-printer business once part of
Hewlett-Packard, the technology pioneer that Bill Hewlett and Dave
Packard famously started in their Palo Alto, Calif., garage in
1939.
Shares, up 37% this year, closed down a penny Thursday at
$20.40.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com and Rachael
King at rachael.king@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 12, 2017 20:13 ET (00:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
HP (NYSE:HPQ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
HP (NYSE:HPQ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024