Computer maker Dell last night raised the revenue forecast for its current quarter by $200 million on strong demand in overseas markets including China but left its earnings per share forecast unchanged.
Shares of Dell rose nearly 3 per cent in after-hours trading. The news also pulled up shares of chipmaker Intel. which sells its microprocessors to Dell. Shares of Intel, which reports results on April 13th, rose 2 per cent.
Dell, which credited the higher revenue forecast to strong growth in markets such as China and elsewhere outside the United States, also said it will nearly double the amount of its shares it's buying back in the first quarter, to about $1.1 billion from an earlier plan of $600 million.
"We're growing profitability and we're taking market share at a pretty attractive rate," co-founder Michael Dell said ahead of its financial analysts meeting on today.
Dell also said the much-awaited cycle in which companies upgrade personal computers last replaced before 2000 is under way, at least for Dell. "We're seeing a lot of companies upgrade their computers," he said.
Many financial analysts had not expected Dell to boost its outlook, and investors said the increased revenue is good news because of concern over the fast-growing notebook PC market.