HP expects an extra $1 billion in revenue

Hewlett-Packard Co.’s turnaround efforts are paying off as the computer and printer maker said Tuesday that it is poised to bulldoze its earlier quarterly earnings targets and rake in an extra $1 billion in sales.

The raised outlook sent shares up 2.8% and underscored HP’s market gains against Dell Inc. and others. It also helped mitigate some concerns of inventory buildup and increased competition.

Some analysts think HP, which has been working to slash costs and streamline its businesses under the regime of Chief Executive Mark Hurd, has yet to reach its financial peak.

“Over the last two years, HP has been focused on improving itself, becoming leaner and stronger,” American Technology Research Inc. analyst Shaw Wu said. “And now we’re seeing the fruits of its work.”

HP is slated to report its second-quarter earnings May 16 but offered the updated guidance after it discovered that an employee had accidentally sent an e-mail with financial details of the quarter to someone outside the company.

HP spokeswoman Emma Wischhusen said the employee made the mistake Monday night and immediately reported it, prompting company executives to disclose the information even though they were not legally required to do so. Wischhusen declined to identify the employee or the unintended recipient of the e-mail.

“It was just an old-fashioned human error, and we tried to act swiftly and promptly,” she said.

HP boosted its second-quarter forecast, citing strong results in its personal computer and server businesses. The Palo Alto-based company said sales for the quarter would range from $25.5 billion to $25.55 billion, and net income would be 64 cents to 65 cents a share -- or 69 cents to 70 cents excluding amortization costs.

In February the company projected second-quarter earnings of 57 cents to 58 cents on roughly $24.5 billion in revenue. Excluding one-time costs, the company had forecast profit of 63 cents to 64 cents a share for the quarter. Analysts expected earnings, on average, of 65 cents a share on $24.58 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial survey.

Higher levels of share buybacks during the quarter ended in April also contributed to the earnings lift, the company said.

HP has managed to build momentum while others in the tech sector have been less upbeat amid an environment of lackluster information technology spending, analysts say.

Shares of HP rose $1.21 to $45.01.