PC maker Dell Inc. said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 63 percent as the recession continued to crimp computer sales around the world.
Earnings for the three months that ended May 1 sank to $290 million, or 15 cents per share, from $784 million, or 38 cents per share, in the same period last year.
Results included a 9-cent charge from closing facilities and paying severance to laid-off workers. Excluding the charge, Dell earned 24 cents per share, or a penny better than analysts had predicted, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.
Sales dropped 23 percent to $12.3 billion, lower than the $12.6 billion analysts had predicted for Round Rock, Texas-based Dell.
Sales of laptops and the smaller, less powerful netbooks, which together make up Dell's largest product category, fell 20 percent in the quarter.
Revenue from large enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses worldwide fell about 30 percent. Consumer sales dropped 16 percent.