Hewlett-Packard Co. HWP.N met its quarterly forecast for the first time in more than a year with results announced on Wednesday, raising confidence Chief Executive Carly Fiorina could muster the votes to pull off a merger with Compaq Computer Corp. Fourth-quarter net profit fell nearly 90 percent and Fiorina said she did not count on an economic recovery next year, but HP's printer sales were relatively strong and both consumer and business revenues rose from three months earlier.
Tough cost cutting led management to meet its own estimates for the first time since August 2000, giving Fiorina new leverage in the high-profile battle over the merger, which pits the most powerful businesswoman in America against the normally silent "royal families" of Silicon Valley.
"Despite the actions by some individuals, I think it's way too early to conclude that this merger will not occur," Fiorina said, referring to a rebellion against the merger by Hewlett and Packard family members.
"We remain convinced this merger will occur," she said, adding HP was talking with and would continue to engage the Packard foundation, which holds a majority of founding family shares and which has said it would consider fourth-quarter results while deciding which way to vote. Bureau Report