Hewlett-Packard Co said it has lowered its first-quarter results by 3 cents a share as a result of years-old litigation involving EDS, which the company bought in 2008.

HP revised its net earnings for the quarter ended January 31 to 93 cents a share, down from 96 cents a share, because of an increase in its contingency reserve for the legal battle.

EDS, now HP Enterprise Services, is a defendant in a lawsuit in the United Kingdom filed by Sky Subscribers Services Ltd and British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) in 2004.

EDS was appointed in 2000 to design and implement BSkyB's customer service system. The agreement broke down in early 2002.

BSkyB, which includes News Corp as a large stakeholder, had accused EDS of deceit, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract. HP has maintained that EDS did nothing to deceive BSkyB.

A court in January found EDS liable in certain areas, but dismissed other claims.

HP, the world's largest technology company by revenue, is seeking permission to appeal the ruling.

On March 1 a court ordered EDS to make an interim payment to BSkyB of roughly $112 million -- on top of a $320 million payment that HP voluntarily made to BSkyB in February.

The ruling prompted HP to increase its contingency reserve.

The company on Friday did not provide a new outlook for the current quarter or the rest of the year.

HP paid $13 billion for EDS in 2008, instantly making it the world's No. 2 technology services provider, behind rival IBM .

Shares of Palo Alto, California-based HP closed at $52.03 on the New York Stock Exchange and fell to $51.86 in extended trading.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Richard Chang and Robert MacMillan)

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