Dell shows business class in stellar Q2

Commercial sales provide all the growth as PC maker boosts revenue by 22 per cent

Michael Dell: This quarter's results are a strong reflection of the progress we have made

A surge in sales of servers, storage and services helped PC giant Dell boost revenue by more than a fifth in a successful second quarter.

For the three months to the end of July, the Texan firm grew sales by 22 per cent annually to $15.5bn (£10bn). Net income rose 16 per cent to $545m.

Growth came entirely from Dell's commercial units, which saw revenue increase 28 per cent on last year to $12.7bn. Consumer sales in Q2 were flat at $2.9bn.

Revenue from storage, services and servers grew 43 per cent to $4.3bn. Geographically, the BRIC quartet of countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – were Dell's biggest quarterly success story, boosting sales by 52 per cent. The four nations now provide 12 per cent of the PC maker's overall sales.

Revenue generated from the public sector was up 21 per cent annually in Q2 to $4.6bn, while SME sales grew by a quarter to $3.5bn. Large enterprise was Dell's star performer, with turnover increasing 38 per cent to $4.5bn.

This was largely fuelled by Dell's acquisition of services titan Perot Systems in September last year. The accretive impact of the buyout helped the vendor grow Q2 services revenue to $1.9bn – a 57 per cent spike on last year.

Looking ahead, Dell is bullish about its prospects for the rest of the fiscal year, expecting full-year sales growth of between 14 and 19 per cent. The manufacturer expects non-GAAP operating profit to grow upwards of 18 per cent. A return to normal technology refresh cycles for both commercial and public clients "is well under way", according to Dell.

"We continue to strengthen our portfolio of datacentre solutions at an aggressive pace with the addition of key intellectual property, talent and technology," said chief executive Michael Dell. "This quarter’s results are a strong reflection of the progress we have made, and we remain very focused on delivering the best possible solutions and services to meet our customers’ IT needs.”