Last solo profit for HP: $9.5m

By ADAM GIFFORD

Hewlett-Packard New Zealand finished its final year as a standalone organisation on an upbeat note, recording a $9.5 million profit on revenue of $276 million for the year ended October 30, 2002.

That compares with a $1 million loss on revenue of $264 million the previous year.

However, definitive figures on how the company was affected by its mid-year merger with Compaq will have to wait until the end of this current financial year.

Despite the HP-Compaq merger happening a year ago this month, the legal amalgamation of the two companies' local subsidiaries did not happen until December 1.

Communications manager Ken Erskine said that because of the timing HP did not have to file Compaq's results with the Companies Office, and did not intend to do so.

The company would also not discuss the HP results because the United States parent was in a quiet period before the release of its first-quarter results.

However, if Compaq managed to match or beat the $323 million it turned over in financial and calendar year 2001, the combined entity would be near the top end of the "$550 million to $600 million" result New Zealand managing director Russell Hewitt was aiming for.

"Does one plus one equal 1.8 or 2.2? We have to find that out," Hewitt said at the time of the merger.

Hewlett-Packard's 2002 profit was boosted by a $1.8 million tax credit for earlier losses.

Expenses included a $3.3 million foreign exchange loss - Hewlett-Packard requires that foreign subsidiaries protect the US dollar balance sheet position of the parent company.

A $25 million dividend was paid to the parent, leaving retained earnings of $12.6 million.