Reuters Business Report
CEO Says HP Ready for Dell Competition
Tuesday October 8, 9:14 am ET
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Reuters) - Carly Fiorina, chief executive of No. 1 PC and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co., said on Tuesday its integration with merger partner Compaq is on track, and that HP is ready to compete with Dell in the lucrative printer market.
"We remain either at or ahead of our integration milestones," such as plans to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2002, Fiorina said in comments delivered at a Gartner technology conference here.
Late in August, the Palo Alto, California-based company posted a $2 billion quarterly net loss owing to costs for the $18.7 billion merger of the two computing giants, which closed back in May.
She also said that the company is prepared to defend its leading position in the lucrative market for inkjet printer ink cartridges, in light of plans by No. 2 PC maker Dell Computer Corp.(NasdaqNM
ELL - News), to enter the market. "The fact that Dell makes an announcement doesn't send us shaking in our boots. Our products have always needed to be competitive -- Dell's announcement doesn't change that in any way," she said.