EMC breaks $6bn quarterly revenue barrier

Vendor claims 12 per cent Q4 sales jump tops off a record-breaking year

EMC has hit the $6bn (£3.8bn) quarterly revenue mark for the first time in its Q4, ending what it claims has been a record breaking 2012.

For the three months to 31 December, the vendor saw year on year non-GAAP net profit attributable to EMC (excluding VMware) rise 12 per cent to $1.2bn on sales which jumped eight per cent to $6bn.

Its services revenue for its fourth quarter rose 13 per cent to $2.3bn while product sales crept up five per cent to $3.7bn. The vendor also upped its investment in research and development by 18 per cent to $663m over the same period.

EMC's full-year revenue rose nine per cent to $21.7bn compared to 2011, while its net profit (excluding VMware) rose 11 per cent to $2.7bn over the same period.

Speaking on an earnings call transcribed by Seeking Alpha, EMC's president David Goudlen said that its channel programme has progressed well in 2012.

He said: "Our channel programme caps off a year of excellent progress, making working with EMC simpler, more predictable and more profitable for our channel partners. Over half our storage revenue goes through our channel partners and our focus is on making these partners more product[ive].

"When we look back at the strides we've made in 2012 with our channel programme, with our service provider partners, and with VCE, we see growth that is constantly in front of our corporate average for the year."

He added that sales of its VSPEX solutions have gone down well in the channel, with partners selling more than 1,300 systems globally, making it what EMC claims is the fastest growing reference architecture in the market.

Regionally, EMC saw the highest growth from the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, which grew 19 per cent, while EMEA sales rose 11 per cent. Sales in the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) region were up by 17 per cent.

EMC is aiming for an eight per cent revenue growth this year.

Goulden added: "Our performance in 2012 demonstrates our focus, discipline, and most of all the strength of our strategy and of the EMC team. As we look to 2013 and beyond, our strategy continues to be focused on cloud, big data, and trusted IT.

"Some of our newer businesses, including emerging storage technologies, advanced security, big data, and the software-defined datacentre, represent our biggest growth opportunities."