Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)

Personal Systems Group—Supplemental Combined Company Information

        We present a supplementary discussion of PSG's combined company results below.

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        PSG's combined company net revenue declined 3% in fiscal 2003. The net revenue decrease in fiscal 2003 was 8% on a constant currency basis. The favorable currency impact was due primarily to the weakening of the dollar against the euro.

        The components of weighted average net revenue growth, by business unit were as follows for the fiscal year ended October 31:

        The combined company net revenue decline in fiscal 2003 resulted from a decline in average selling prices across all businesses within PSG and, to a lesser extent, a decline in volumes in commercial and consumer desktop PCs. The decline in average selling prices during the period was attributable to the realignment of product prices. The continued mix shift from desktops to notebooks impacted unfavorably consumer and commercial desktop PC volumes. Additionally, the commercial desktop PC volume decline in the period was due to the execution of post-acquisition product roadmap decisions, which included the discontinuance of the HP Vectra product line. Notebook PC volumes increased in fiscal 2003 compared to the prior year, due to increased product competitiveness, a broader product portfolio, and the previously mentioned mix shift from desktops to notebooks, offset in part the desktop PC decreases. In addition to the increase in notebook PC volumes, handheld volumes increased due to new product introductions.

        The combined company earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue was 0.1% in fiscal 2003 compared to a loss of 1.7% in fiscal 2002. In fiscal 2003, an improvement in gross margin as a percentage of net revenue represented 1.1 percentage points of the 1.8 percentage point increase, while the remaining 0.7 percentage point increase was due to a decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of revenue. The gross margin improvement resulted from our reduced direct and indirect procurement costs, reflecting synergies associated with our acquisition of Compaq, moderated by the declining ASPs described above. The operating expense improvement resulted from headcount reductions, tightening of administrative costs and lower research and development expense.