Dell does better than expected

TIN BOX FIRM Dell has posted reasonable third quarter results despite dark clouds of doom blotting out the sun and predictions of the seas turning to blood not to mention a rain of herring in Barnsley.

According to Reuters, for the quarter ended November 3, Dell earned $677 million on revenue of $14.4 billion. That compared with earnings of $606 million in the same quarter last year.

Sales of the company's "mobility products," including laptops actually grew 17 per cent and offset a drop in desktop PC sales of five per cent.

But the figures are largely academic until the results of the Securities and Exchange Commission probe are known.

Dell claims SEC investigation will not affect earnings, but the report's release was not followed by the usual cheery post earnings conference calls, where reporters and analysts can directly question founder Michael Dell and CEO Kevin Rollins. µ

L'INQ
Reuters