IBM beats analysts as profits rise on mainframe sales
20 Jan 2011
International Business Machines rose to its highest in six months in New York trading yesterday, after the company posted fourth-quarter profit and sales that beat analysts' projections.
Per-share profit was up at $4.18, the New York-based company said yesterday in a statement. Sales rose to $29 billion on boost from IBM's newest mainframe and with companies buying more analytics software.
The company becomes the second technology bellwether whose earnings point to increasing IT spends. Intel Corp last week, projected first quarter sales beating estimates, as companies bought more computers and servers.
Fourth-quarter hardware revenue increased 21 per cent to $6.3 billion, helped by the mainframe the company introduced in July. Sales from the software division were up 7 per cent at $7 billion.
Net income for the quarter was up 9.2 per cent at $5.26 billion from $4.81 billion, or $3.59 a share, a year earlier.
Brazil, India and China revenue climbed 15 per cent with sales of the regions expected to contribute at least a quarter of revenue by 2015, the company had said in May.