Enterprise and SMB saves Dell's Q4 skin

Vendor's balance sheet shored up by strong commercial performance and solutions sales

Enterprise and SMB sales proved Dell's saviour during a solid fourth quarter which saw its consumer operations plagued by falling sales and wafer-thin margins.

The PC vendor's worldwide revenue in Q410 stood at $15.7bn (£9.8bn), a five per cent increase on the corresponding period last year. GAAP operating profit more than doubled to $1.1bn.

In 2010, turnover grew 16 per cent to $61.5bn. The top-line growth was partly fuelled by sales from the six companies – including Perot Systems and Kace – that Dell has acquired in the last 18 months. Full-year GAAP operational income was up 58 per cent annually to $3.4bn.

Chief executive Michael Dell said: "I'm very pleased with our fiscal year results and the strong performance we're seeing in our commercial businesses. We remain focused on developing and acquiring new technologies and capabilities, and our IT solutions portfolio has never been stronger."

Q4 revenue for Dell's enterprise division rose 12 per cent year on year to $4.7bn, with operating margins of 10.7 per cent. Public sector sales grew four per cent to $4bn, and the vendor banked 9.2 per cent of the top line in operational profits.

Dell's SMB unit was the star performer in Q4, with turnover up four per cent annually to $3.7bn, 12 per cent of which went on the operational bottom line. But the consumer division suffered an eight per cent sales decline year on year, posting a top line of $3.3bn. Operating margins also stood at a meagre 2.1 per cent.

Dell's performance in Asia-Pacific and the BRIC countries provided much of its Q4 sales growth. The regions posted annual top-line increases of 17 and 21 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, EMEA and the Americas posted revenue growth of just three per cent apiece. EqualLogic was Dell's top-performing technology during the quarter, with sales up 49 per cent annually.

Brian Gladden, chief financial officer at Dell, said: "Our outstanding fourth quarter and full-year results align well with our long-term value creation framework, and we're pleased with the sustainable operational improvements we've made across the company, including in our consumer business."