HP CFO Lesjak Issues Dismal Prediction For 2013, Sees Sales Decline

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) CFO Cathie Lesjak issued a dismal earnings forecast for fiscal 2013 results, warning of revenue declines, except for software.

The forecast sent shares of HP down nearly 10 percent in afternoon trading to $15.45, down $1.68. It closed at $14.91, down 13 percent.

Lesjak forecast the Palo Alto, Calif., based company will report 2013 earnings around $3.40 to $3.60 a share on operations, or $2.10 to $2.30 a share on a net basis. The results for the year ending Oct. 31, 2013 should also see a $2.2 billion benefit as the result of firing as many as 26,000 employees.

She didn't pre-announce HP's fourth-quarter results, which are expected to be announced in mid-November. Analysts expected HP to report net income of $4.05 a share on revenue of $121 billion for fiscal 2012.

Earlier, CEO Margaret Whitman led off with a presentation in which she said the No. 1 computer company isn’t performing well, had too many individual products such as printers and hadn’t properly prepared for the age of the cloud, delivering software as a service and mobility.

Whitman warned that the turnaround at HP will require "at least five years," urging investors to be patient. "All of this is going to take some time to fix," she said, in her first major presenation since taking over in September 2011.

Other HP executives are scheduled to make presentations Wednesday afternoon.