HP, which lifted its skirt and showed everybody its panties last week, officially released its better-than-expected fiscal Q4 results Monday November 24 and repeated its relatively aggressive guidance for the current quarter. In a conference call Monday CEO Mark Hurd said he was confident the company could weather the economic apocalypse, “gain share, expand earnings and emerge from the current environment in a meaningfully stronger position.”

As it said it would, HP ponied up $2.11 billion in earnings, or 84 cents a share (GAAP), down 1.9% from $2.16 billion year-over-year, on revenues of $33.6 billion, up 19% year-over-year or 16% when adjusted for the effects of currency.

Excluding the revenue from its recent $13.9 billion EDS acquisition, net revenue grew 5% year-over-year or 2% when adjusted for the effects of currency.

HP would have earned $1.03 if not for its restructuring and acquisition charges.

Things are, Hurd conceded, "tougher and less predictable."

HP's continued cost cutting is supposed to balance further weakening in IT spending. It intends to keep cutting travel, curtail hiring, and eliminate "bad" R&D, say, in acquired software development.

It claims it won't lose "muscle" and lay off more people than the 24,600 it's already terminating because of its EDS acquisition. It figures that will save a billion dollars in fiscal 2009.

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