Computer maker Dell reported an 18-percent
drop in fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday as consumer sales continued
to show weakness.
The Texas-based company said it earned $764 million in the
quarter, down from $927 million in the year-ago period, as
revenue increased 2.2 percent to $16.03 billion.
While consumer revenue dropped 2 percent as customers continued
to ditch PC's in favour of iPads and other tablet computers, Dell did
perform well in Asia-Pacific and Japan, where sales grew 10 percent,
including a 15-percent surge in China.
Europe, the Middle East and Africa saw an 8-percent increase in
sales, while sales in the Americas dropped 3 per cent.
According to research firm Gartner, Dell is the number three
computer maker in the world behind HP and Lenovo. If Apple's iPads
were counted as PCs, Apple would be the world's largest computer
maker.
