Dell Technologies Inc reported a 15 percent rise in quarterly revenue on Thursday, as businesses were forced to upgrade their systems running on older Windows technology and on strong performance by software maker VMware. The results come ahead of voting on the company's offer to buy back shares tied to its 81 percent economic stake in VMware Inc, which would allow Dell a return to public markets without going through the rigors of a traditional initial public offer process.
Dell earlier this month sweetened its cash-and-stock offer to $23.9 billion, winning backing from shareholders including Carl Icahn, who had opposed the initial bid, as well as from Elliott Management and Canyon Partners.
"We expect the transaction to close in this calendar year, with the projected close date and first day of trading for the Class C common stock on the NYSE under the ticker symbol 'DELL' on December 28," Dell's head of investor relations Robert Williams said on a conference call with analysts. The offer is scheduled to be voted on Dec.11.
The gain was largely due to businesses looking to replace their older machines following Microsoft Corp's decision to stop all support for its Windows 7 operating system early in 2020. Dell held 17 percent of the global PC market share year-to-date, behind HP Inc's 23 percent and Lenovo Group Ltd's 21 percent share, according to data from Canalys.
HP Inc on Thursday reported an 11 percent rise in revenue in its personal systems business, which also topped analysts' estimates. For fiscal year ending 2019, the company expects total adjusted revenue in the range of $90.5 billion and $92 billion. The company had reported adjusted revenue of $79.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Feb.2, 2018. Total revenue rose 15 percent to $22.48 billion in the quarter, while net loss attributable widened to $876 million. The company's shares, up about 30 percent this year, rose nearly 8 percent to $174.65 after the bell.