In addition to its operating units, HP posted a $12m loss on investments and had $66m in costs not allocated to a specific business. The company also had $234m in restructuring costs, as well a number of various acquisitions related and other items. A year after HP acquired Compaq, many analysts praise the company for its cost-cutting but still question whether the company is any better positioned to compete against IBM's breadth and Dell's efficient sales model. The job cuts are the latest moves in HP's efforts to tweak its strategy in the enterprise space, where it has been struggling to return to profitability. It shuffled some executives earlier this month, but said it remains on track to make money by the end of its fiscal year in October. As for the overall economic outlook, Fiorina told analysts that it is different for different parts of the world. "The US appears to be stable, but (there is) no catalyst for improvement," Fiorina said. "Europe now appears to be beginning to weaken. Asia continues to move along here. We have seen no impact of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) to date." Melanie Hollands, president of hedge fund firm Koala Capital, said that HP's results and outlook are benefiting from a weak dollar as well as a lower tax rate. "HP continues to endure weakening demand across most of its product segments and ongoing distractions from operations, as a result of reorganisation," Hollands said. "Although HP has significant technology assets and a substantial base of stable, profitable revenue from both its printing and supplies segments, these positives appear all but offset by ongoing pressure from increased competition, commoditisation, execution challenges and lack of strategic focus -- which all comes within the context of a weak economy and continued declines in overall IT spending." Hollands said she was not surprised that HP had announced further job cuts. "Their cost structure is not yet competitive with Dell's, and there is a way to go on that front," Hollands said.
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