HP PC Profit Nearly Triples
Palo Alto, Calif. — With notebooks and desktops leading the charge, revenue for personal systems, the computer group at Hewlett-Packard, increased 9 percent in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, hitting $7.1 billion, up from a year-ago $6.5 billion.
Atlanta —The Home Depot reported a 10.5 percent fiscal third-quarter sales increase, climbing to $20.7 billion from a year-ago $18.8 billion, while comp-store sales rose 3.6 percent.
Staples N.A. Retail Sales Jump 9%
Framingham, Mass. — Strong performances in copy center, networking, digital cameras and accessories, portable computers and peripherals drove up fiscal third-quarter North American retail sales at Staples by 9 percent, hitting $2.5 billion from a year-ago $2.3 billion.
Gregg Appliances Sales Rise 15.4%
Indianapolis — The net addition of seven stores in the past 12 months, along with a comp-store increase of 2.8 percent in its fiscal second quarter, drove up second-quarter sales 15.4 percent at specialty retailer Gregg Appliances, reaching $212.9 million, up from $184.5 million in the year-ago period.
Natick, Mass. — Sales at BJ’s Wholesale Club increased 9.3 percent in the company’s fiscal third quarter, hitting $1.9 billion, up from a year-ago $1.6 billion, meanwhile comparable warehouse club sales moved up 4.1 percent in the period, including a 3.3 percent contribution from sales of gasoline.
Bentonville, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores posted a 9.5 percent fiscal third-quarter increase for its stores, rising to $50.2 billion, up from $45.9 billion in the year-ago period.
Dell PC Sales Off 2%; Notebook Segment Rises 14%
Round Rock, Texas — In a continued shift from sales of desktop PCs to notebook computers, Dell recorded a fiscal third-quarter decrease of 2 percent year-on-year in its desktop business, down to $5.1 billion, from $5.2 billion in the same quarter the prior year.
Minneapolis — Total fiscal third-quarter revenue at Target climbed 11.9 percent, reaching $12.2 billion, up from $10.9 billion, driven by a 5.9 percent increase in comp-store sales, combined with the contribution from new-store expansion and the retailer’s credit card operations, which reported $359 million in revenue.
