Hewlett-Packard Co.’s share price up, announces fourth-quarter sales that miss analysts forecasts, preparing for a split

Hewlett-Packard Co. made an official statement that there was a decline in its printing, services and enterprise units during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.

According to Hewlett-Packard, growth was registered only in its personal-systems group in the three months ended on October 31st. The U.S.-based company said that its total sales declined by 2.5% to reach $28.4 billion. The result fell short of analysts forecasts, pointing to a $28.9-billion revenue.

During the past three years the company was under the lead of Meg Whitman as a Chief Executive Officer, who pushed it up to higher profitability and greater shareholders confidence. However, the company has recently been shrinking, with its revenue falling in 12 out of the last 13 quarters.

The difficulties Hewlett-Packard has been dealing with, urged the CEO Whitman to announce a break-up plan in October 2014. The U.S.-based company is to be split in order to create two smaller entities.

As reported by the Financial Times, Ms. Whitman said: “This is the biggest separation that has ever been done. It is not a typical spin-off, it is two fortune 50 companies which are big and complex. But we have got the right people on it and it is really heartening how we have approached this. It is HP at its best: an execution machine.”

According to Hewlett-Packards statement, its profit excluding some items amounted to $1.06 per share over the fourth fiscal quarter. The result matched analysts projections. The company also announced that its net income declined from $1.41 billion, or 73 cents a share posted a year ago, to $1.33 billion, or 70 cents a share.

Hewlett-Packard also revealed its projections for the current period, saying that its profit before certain items is expected to amount within the range of 89 to 93 cents per share. In comparison, analysts projected a profit of 93 cents a share. Hewlett-Packard forecast its fiscal 2015 profit will be in the range of $3.83 to $4.03 per share. The median estimate pointed to a profit of $3.95 a share next year.

Hewlett-Packard Co. was up 0.35% to close at $37.63 per share yesterday, marking a one-year increase of 48.62%. The company is valued at $69.99 billion. The companys shares traded at €29.855 in Frankfurt as of 8:22 GMT. According to CNN Money, the 24 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Hewlett-Packard Co. have a median target of $40.00, with a high estimate of $45.00 and a low estimate of $34.00. The median estimate represents a +6.30% increase from the last price of $37.63.