H-P Profits Jump, But Not High Enough

Hewlett-Packard Co., pinched by price cuts in an increasingly competitive personal-computer market, Monday reported a 45-percent gain in third-quarter profit that was well below expectations.

Hewlett-Packard, one of the nation’s biggest computer makers, said it earned $617 million, or 58 cents a share, in the three months ended July 31, up from $425 million, or 40 cents a share a year ago. But profits would have risen only 11 percent if the company hadn’t set aside $135 million last year to shed its disk-drive business.

Revenue rose 15 percent to $10.47 billion from $9.11 billion.

The results failed to meet the average expectations of analysts, who had predicted per-share earnings of 68 cents, according to First Call.