Dell beats forecasts for second quarter

Dell's meteoric growth is expected to continue well into the next millennium after it surpassed analysts' forecasts for its second quarter.

For the quarter ended 30 July, the direct vendor reported a 42 per cent rise in revenue to $6.1bn, compared with $4.3bn for the same quarter last year.

Profit jumped 47 per cent to $507m, up from $346m in the same quarter last year.

Michael Dell, chief executive of Dell, said online sales reached $30m per day in the last month of the quarter, which equated to nearly 40 per cent of the vendor's revenue. By comparison, Dell's online sales in December 1997 were $3m a day.

A spokesman for Dell added: "We are the largest direct company within the worldwide home and small business market, and are significantly more profitable in this sector than our nearest rival.

"Our US shipments grew more than 100 per cent in the quarter, and about half of those sales were generated online."

In Europe, Dell achieved only a 24 per cent revenue gain, well behind growth rates in the US. Poor performances in countries such as Italy, Germany and Austria are thought to be the reason behind the slump.

But one high point for the direct vendor was attaining the number one ranking in PC shipments in the UK, overtaking Compaq for the first time.