Profits jump to $8.7bn in a record year for the printing giant

HP sales hit a record $104.3bn (£50.5bn) in 2007, up 14 per cent or $12.6bn (£6.1bn), and profit totalled $8.7bn (£4.2bn).

Fourth quarter revenue also rose, by 15 per cent, to $28.3bn (£13.7), while operating profit jumped 38 per cent to $2.6bn (£1.3bn).

Revenue from HP software doubled from the previous year to $698m (£338m), fuelled by the acquisition of Mercury Interactive in July 2006.

Notebook sales rose 49 per cent to $5.16bn (£2.5bn) during the fourth quarter, while desktop revenue grew 15 per cent to $4.2bn (£2bn).

“Strong performance across our businesses was highlighted by sharp improvement in our software segment,” said HP chief executive Mark Hurd.

“We have added over $12bn (£5.8bn) of new revenue this year. While we still have more work to do, HP is well positioned to make further progress in the marketplace.”