Dell's revenue in Asia-Pacific drops

Personal computer (PC) maker Dell Inc on Saturday reported an 11 per cent dip in revenue for the quarter ended October in its Asia-Pacific markets, including India, indicating a softening of demand and poor uptick in business.

The company declined to share country-specific revenue, but Amit Midha, president, Asia-Pacific, told reporters on a conference call that the region's performance in the quarter was a "mixed bag", with revenue falling in key markets such as China and India.

It is for the second consecutive quarter that Dell is reporting a revenue decline in the Indian market. In the May-July quarter, its India revenue dip was 30 per cent. PC makers in India have been facing a challenging time in 2012, with currency fluctuations and lower technology spending. Overall, Dell had an 11 per cent decline in revenue for August-October, at $13.7 billion. Net profit for the quarter dropped 47 per cent to $475 million compared with the corresponding period last year, primarily due to lower PC sales and weak demand from large enterprises. The company follows a February to January financial year. There was also a nine per cent revenue decline in the Americas. “Dell sees a challenging global macroeconomic environment continuing in the fourth quarter, which will continue to impact the results," said Midha.

In the quarter, Dell continued to face stiff competition. Consumer revenue was $2.5 bn, a 23 per cent decline, and it had an operating loss of $65 million. Revenue also fell across business units and regions. Large enterprises reported a decline of eight per cent, public revenue decreased 11 per cent, and small and medium enterprises were down one per cent.

However, its enterprise solutions and services revenue grew three per cent year-on-year, to $4.8 bn. Server and networking revenue for the quarter grew 11 per cent. Dell was the only top-three server provider to have positive unit growth in the quarter.