ARN

HP cuts reported profit on additional BSkyB legal costs

The company had to cut its earnings after a court awarded extra payments in a lawsuit against EDS

Hewlett-Packard has been forced to reduce the amount of profit it reported last quarter to cover additional costs awarded against its EDS division in a lawsuit brought by British Sky Broadcasting in the U.K.

On Monday a U.K. court ordered EDS to make an interim payment to BSkyB of £70 million, or about $US112 million, which was on top of the £200 million HP had already paid out last month.

The extra payment means HP had to increase the money it had set aside to cover costs of the litigation, which in turn lopped about $73 million, or $0.03 per share, off its first-quarter profits, HP said Friday.

BSkyB sued EDS in 2004 over a CRM (customer relationship management) project it had been awarded four years earlier. BSkyB accused EDS of misrepresenting itself in a sales pitch, and HP inherited the suit when it bought EDS in 2008.

The court dismissed most of the claims against EDS in January, but HP was still left with significant penalties. It is trying to get permission to appeal the parts of the ruling that went against it.

The revision cut HP's first-quarter net earnings to $2.25 billion, or $0.93 per share, down from the $2.32 billion, or $0.96 per share, it had reported previously. HP reported the results Feb. 17.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: British Sky Broadcasting, EDS, Hewlett-Packard, HP

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: British Sky Broadcasting, eds, HP
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
Alloys , ASI Solutions , Australasian PC Distributors (APCD) , Australian IT Spares , Avnet Technology Solutions , Banksia Software , Bluechip Infotech , Dicker Data , ICT Distribution , Impact Systems Technology , Lynx Technologies , Synnex Australia , Topstar Computer International , XiT Distribution , Xpress I.T. , Dynamic Supplies , Fusion Power Systems , Sektor
ARN Directory | Vendors relevant to this article
HP
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/aca-pacific/439_qlogic-reseller-promotion-bonuses-on-hba-and-s
ACA Pacific

QLogic Reseller Promotion. Bonuses on HBA and Switch Purchases. Ends June 30th, 2012

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.