HP INC annual report, FY2010

HP Inc. (Hewlett-Packard Company) — FY2010 Form 10-K Summary

Reporting period: Fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. This is an annual report, not a standalone fourth-quarter filing; the filing also provides unaudited quarterly results. HP is a global provider of personal computers, printing and imaging, enterprise hardware and software, IT services, and financing.

Financial performance

MetricFY2010FY2009
Revenue$126.0 billion$114.6 billion
Gross profit / gross margin$29.9 billion / 23.8%$27.0 billion / 23.6%
Operating earnings / operating margin$11.5 billion / 9.1%$10.1 billion / 8.8%
Net earnings / net margin$8.8 billion / 7.0%$7.7 billion / 6.7%
Diluted EPS$3.69$3.14
Cash from operations$11.9 billion$13.4 billion

Revenue increased 10.0% as reported (8.3% at constant currency); net earnings rose about 14%. Gross margin improved 0.2 percentage points. Cash from operations declined by approximately $1.5 billion, principally reflecting increased receivables and payments for operating liabilities.

At year-end, cash and cash equivalents were $10.9 billion, total debt was $22.3 billion (including $7.0 billion short-term and $15.3 billion long-term), and available borrowing resources were reported at $13.8 billion. The debt-equity ratio increased to 0.55x from 0.39x. Current assets were $54.2 billion and current liabilities $49.4 billion. Capital spending on property, plant and equipment was $4.1 billion; net cash used in investing was $11.4 billion, including $8.1 billion for acquisitions. HP repurchased $11.0 billion of shares and paid $771 million in dividends.

Fourth-quarter snapshot: Revenue was $33.3 billion, operating earnings $3.3 billion, net earnings $2.5 billion, and diluted EPS $1.10. In the comparable FY2009 quarter, these were $30.8 billion, $3.1 billion, $2.4 billion, and $0.99, respectively.

Segments and changes versus prior year

SegmentFY2010 revenueRevenue changeOperating margin
Services$34.9 billion+0.7%16.1%, up from 14.5%
Enterprise Storage and Servers$18.7 billion+21.4%12.9%, up from 9.9%
HP Software$3.6 billion+0.4%21.2%, up from 19.1%
Personal Systems Group$40.7 billion+15.4%5.0%, up from 4.7%
Imaging and Printing Group$25.8 billion+7.3%17.1%, down from 18.0%
HP Financial Services$3.0 billion+14.0%9.2%, up from 7.7%

PSG was the largest contributor to consolidated revenue growth; ESS growth was led by industry-standard servers. Services revenue was nearly flat, but efficiency gains and EDS synergies lifted its margin. IPG revenue recovered, while its margin fell as hardware gained mix relative to higher-margin supplies. The prior-year comparison reflects a sharp FY2009 downturn: consolidated revenue declined 3.2% in FY2009, with broad weakness in PCs, servers, and printing.

Outlook, management commentary, risks and unusual items

  • Management said year-end cash and anticipated operating cash flow were sufficient for expected FY2011 cash outlays. The supplied filing text does not provide a clear consolidated revenue or EPS forecast.
  • Strategy emphasized operational efficiency and investment in cloud computing, virtualization, networking, security, mobility, and emerging markets. HP completed acquisitions including 3Com, Palm, 3PAR, and ArcSight; it reported 11 acquisitions in FY2010 and $9.4 billion aggregate purchase price allocations.
  • FY2010 restructuring charges were $1.1 billion. A new enterprise-services plan was expected to cost about $1.0 billion and eliminate approximately 9,000 positions. HP estimated about $2.1 billion of future cash expenditures for approved restructuring plans, including approximately $1.4 billion in FY2011.
  • Other material risks include intense pricing competition, economic and IT-spending uncertainty, reliance on suppliers and contract manufacturers, product transitions and quality, foreign currency exposure, cybersecurity and data protection, acquisition integration, and pension and tax estimates. Approximately 65% of revenue came from outside the United States.
  • Contingencies included ongoing German, U.S. and SEC investigations into alleged bribery and other misconduct related to a Russia government transaction; HP said it was cooperating. Indian authorities alleged customs-duty underpayments of about $370 million plus penalties, among other notices; HP intended to contest them. Copyright-levy disputes and inkjet-printer class actions also remained; proposed settlements in several inkjet cases awaited final court approval.
  • CEO leadership changed during 2010: Léo Apotheker became CEO in November, following Catherine Lesjak’s interim service. Ernst & Young issued unqualified opinions on the financial statements and internal control; management and the auditor reported effective internal control over financial reporting.

Investor verification priorities

  1. Reconcile the operating-cash-flow decline and monitor receivables, the cash conversion cycle (21 days versus 14), and cash conversion into earnings.
  2. Assess the effect of acquisitions, higher debt, and continued share repurchases on leverage, liquidity, goodwill, and future amortization.
  3. Track delivery of the enterprise-services restructuring savings against its costs, timing, and planned workforce reductions.
  4. Review the outcome and potential financial exposure of the Russia-related investigations, India customs notices, copyright levies, and pending litigation.
  5. Check whether PC and printer growth can be sustained without further margin erosion, particularly in PSG and IPG, and whether Services can maintain margin improvement.
  6. Evaluate the assumptions behind pension funding, tax reserves and uncertain tax positions; HP expected approximately $817 million of pension and post-retirement contributions in FY2011.