Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) announced it had made a change to its fiscal first-quarter earnings on Friday, stating that profit was actually $73 million or three cents per share less than what the company originally reported on Feb. 17.
The personal computer-maker and software company revised its earnings downward from $2.32 billion or 96 cents a share to $2.25 billion or 93 cents a share. That compares to last year’s first-quarter profit of $1.86 billion or 75 cents a share. The company had previously reported profit of $2.32 billion with earnings of 96 cents a share.
H-P said the revision was necessary as a result of developments made in litigation related to Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS), an acquisition H-P made in August of 2008. The litigation required an increase in the amount of contingency reserve, causing the H-P to have to lower the amount of profit reported last quarter.
“The revision of HP’s first quarter earnings follows developments in a legal dispute involving EDS, which HP inherited when it acquired the company in 2008," the company said in a statement issued Friday. "The revision is unrelated to HP’s strong business performance in the first quarter. HP is seeking permission to appeal.”
Shares of H-P gained 52 cents or 1.01% in Friday’s trading session, to close at $52.03. The stock was down 15 cents or 0.29% in after-hours trading.
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