Hewlett-Packard reported a 26% increase in first-quarter net profit, powered by stronger sales of personal computers and imaging and printing devices.

 

HP said it earned $1.55 billion, or 55 cents a share, in the three months ended Jan. 31, compared to $1.23 billion, or 42 cents, in the first quarter of fiscal 2006.

 

Revenue also showed strong gains, rising 11% to $25.1 billion, up from $22.7 billion a year ago and more than the $24.3 billion expected, on average, by analysts.

 

Excluding charges and one-time items, the computer and printing giant said it would have earned $1.8 billion, or 65 cents a share. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial called for a profit of 62 cents a share.

 

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu, who holds a neutral rating on H-P's stock, said "overall, it was a strong quarter," and said the company's personal computer business, in particular, surpassed even the most-optimistic of expectations.

 

As for the second quarter, H-P's estimates it will post sales of $24.5 billion, slightly higher than the $24.1 billion expected by analysts. It forecast earnings between 57 cents and 58 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, H-P expects to earn between 63 cents and 64 cents a share, compared to the consensus analyst estimate of 63 cents. In early Wednesday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average component's shares fell 1.1% to $42.66.