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Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's biggest computer maker, posted a rise in its quarterly operating margin yesterday, and pointed to strength in its international business.

HP also confirmed preliminary earnings figures for its fiscal second quarter released last week that showed a profit of $2.1-billion (U.S.), or 80 cents a share, compared with $1.8-billion or 65 cents a year earlier. Revenue was $28.3-billion, up 11 per cent.

Operating margin, excluding special items, was 10 per cent, up from 9 per cent a year earlier and 9.9 per cent in the first quarter, HP said.

International markets accounted for 70 per cent of revenue, with that from Europe, the Middle East and Asia rising 16 per cent on the year to $11.1-billion. Revenue from Brazil, Russia, India and China grew 26 per cent over a year earlier.

"HP turned in another strong quarter, supported by improvement across our businesses," chief executive officer Mark Hurd said in a statement. "We benefited from robust demand in emerging economies."

HP's personal computer business grew 16 per cent from a year earlier, with unit shipments up 21 per cent. Notebook revenue grew 31 per cent while desktop revenue was flat.

The company's imaging and printers segment grew 6 per cent, while enterprise storage and servers revenue rose 4 per cent and services grew 12 per cent, HP said.

Last week, HP announced it was buying technology outsourcing company Electronic Data Systems Corp for $12.6-billion, seeking to bolster its services business to better compete against IBM.

HEWLETT-PACKARD CO.

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