Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) on Monday posted a jump of profit in the most recent quarter, which was driven by cost cutting and strong performance of its services business.

In the company's fourth fiscal quarter ended on October 31, HP's profit increased to US$2.4 billion or 99 cents per share, up 14 percent and 18 percent respectively compared with the same period a year earlier.

The world's largest personal computer (PC) maker reported revenue of US$30.8 billion, a drop of 8 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Most of HP's major business units saw sales falling in the quarter except the services unit. Services business revenue rose to US$8.9 billion, an increase of 8 percent year-on-year.

PC business revenue dropped 12 percent to US$9.9 billion although unit shipments increased 8 percent.

"HP's solid performance in services drove record profit, and the accelerated pace in signings creates strong momentum going into 2010," Mark Hurd, chief executive officer of HP, said in a statement.

"Our operational execution and improving cost structure generated strong quarterly and year-end results. We expect to outperform the market due to our significant scale, broad portfolio and market-leading position," he added.

While HP's revenue declined in all the major regions worldwide in the quarter, China was a bright spot as the company reported that revenue in China surged more than 20 percent from the previous year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2009)