HP says it will increase spending on research and marketing in a bid to breathe life back into the company, after net income plunged by 91% in its fourth quarter results.
Slower sales of consumer computers and costs incurred during the closure of its mobile software business were the prime factors behind the fall in profits, the company said, with new CEO Meg Whitman calling for a "reset and rebuilding year" in 2012.
Net income for the quarter fell to $239m from $2.5bn last year.
Revenue dropped by only 3%, which will offer comfort to a company that has been through a turbulent period since announcing in August it was shutting its web OS mobile platform and considered spinning off or selling its computing division.
"We need to reduce the drama here," Whitman told the Reuters news agency. "There was a lot of drama in 2011."
According to Whitman, the company was planning to invest in new technologies and stabilise its business, with more investments expected in the shape of smaller software company takeovers.
"We need to get back to the business fundamentals in fiscal 2012, including making prudent investments in the business and driving more consistent execution,” Whitman said.
Despite the upheaval, its computing division sales declined by only 2% to $10.1bn, although sales to consumers slipped by 9%.
This article originally appeared at pcpro.co.uk
