FILE PHOTO: A screen displays the logo for HP Inc. at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., November 18, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
(Reuters) -HP Inc on Tuesday forecast fiscal 2024 earnings largely in line with estimates and raised its annual dividend, reflecting stabilizing demand in the personal computers market.
Companies such as HP, Lenovo and Dell Technologies have seen demand ease from peaks hit during the pandemic, when work-from-home trends drove up sales of laptops and other electronic devices.
Shares of Palo Alto, California-based HP were up more than 2% in trading after the bell. They have fallen roughly 2% so far this year.
The PC maker also forecast fiscal 2024 free cash flow of $3.1 billion to $3.6 billion and expects to return about 100% of it to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
"Our Future Ready plan is strengthening our core business, accelerating our expansion in services, building new operational capabilities, and improving our structural costs," said HP CEO Enrique Lores.
The board has approved an increase to the planned dividend amount to $1.10 per share, reflecting a 5% increase from the prior dividend, the company said.
The company expects its 2024 adjusted earnings in the range of $3.25 to $3.65 per share, largely in line with analyst estimates of $3.47, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shinjini Ganguli)
