Dell does the business in Q3

Texan vendor enjoys spike in commercial and public sector sales but consumer market remains slow

Strong business demand offset muted consumer growth as Dell posted impressive top- and bottom-line growth during its fiscal third quarter.

For the three months to 29 October, the PC titan's sales rose 19 per cent year on year to $15.4bn (£9.6bn). GAAP operating income increased 77 per cent to just over $1bn. Enterprise sales were up 27 per cent to $4.3bn, while SMB revenue grew 24 per cent to $3.7bn.

Dell's public sector turnover rose by a fifth to $4.4bn. The growth was fuelled by the addition of revenue from IT services behemoth Perot Systems, which Dell bought for almost $4bn in September last year.

The PC maker's consumer division was the laggard in Q3, with sales up a modest four per cent to $3bn.

Dell chief executive Michael Dell said: "Our strong results demonstrate that we are listening to customers and delivering what they want. It validates that our strategy to offer choice and efficiency at every level of the IT enterprise computing stack is taking hold, and we are more focused than ever on being a true partner - not merely a provider - to our customers. Dell is growing in the right areas, and I'm very excited about our momentum."