ARN

IBM reports 20 percent jump in Q3 net income

IBM on Wednesday reported a 20 percent increase in net income for its third quarter reaching $2.8 billion.

IBM on Wednesday reported a 20 percent increase in net income for its third quarter and said its profit outlook for the full year remains on track.

The preannouncement came one week before IBM is due to report its full financial results on Oct. 16 and may help calm technology investors, who have been pummelling stocks amid fears of a spending slowdown caused by the U.S. financial crisis.

On Monday, software vendor SAP said concern about the financial crisis among its customers led to a "very sudden and unexpected drop in business activity" at the end of its third quarter.

IBM suggested that the broad scope of its business will help it to better weather the crisis.

"Our results demonstrate that the combination of a steady base of recurring revenue and profits, investments for growth in emerging markets, a range of products and services that deliver value to clients, and a strong and flexible financial foundation give IBM a competitive edge in good times and tough times,” Sam Palmisano, IBM's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. “We remain confident in our full-year outlook."

IBM reported revenue for the third quarter of US$25.3 billion, up 5 percent from the year before, including 3 percentage points from favorable exchange rates. Net income climbed 20 percent to US$2.8 billion, with earnings per share up 22 percent to $2.05.

The earnings beat the expectations of financial analysts by $0.03 per share, but the revenue figure is considerably lower than the analyst forecast of $26.5 billion.

IBM reaffirmed its full-year outlook for earnings per share of at least $8.75, which would be an increase of 22 percent over fiscal 2007 and one penny short of the analyst forecast. IBM didn't provide a revenue estimate for the full year.

Shares in IBM were down 5 percent at the close of normal trading Wednesday, at $90.55. They had climbed 4 percent higher in trading after hours at the time of this report.

Come socialise with us! Facebook | LinkedIn

More about: Billion, IBM, SAP

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: IBM
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
ACA Pacific , Australasian PC Distributors (APCD) , Australian IT Spares , Avnet Technology Solutions , Banksia Software , Impact Systems Technology , Leader Computers , POS POS , Scholastic , Synnex Australia , XiT Distribution
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/transition-systems-australia/2010-11-15_345_new-wan-optimisation-available
Transition Systems Australia

NEW. WAN Optimisation Available.

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.