Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported Q1 FY2021 net revenue of $6.8 billion, down 2% from the prior-year period or 3% when adjusted for currency, marked by stronger than normal sequential seasonality. Non-GAAP diluted net EPS was $0.52, compared to $0.50 in the prior-year period and above the previously provided outlook of $0.40 to $0.44 per share.
“We delivered a strong Q1 performance,” said Antonio Neri, president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. “Our revenue exceeded our outlook and we significantly expanded our gross and operating margins to drive strong profitability across most of our businesses. Our non-GAAP EPS exceeded the high-end of our guidance and free cash flow was a record Q1 performance. These results give us confidence to raise our FY21 outlook. The global pandemic has brought a renewed focus on digital transformation as businesses are rethinking everything from remote work and collaboration to business continuity and data insight,“ he continued.
Segment Results
- Intelligent Edge revenue was $806 million, up 12% year over year or 11% when adjusted for currency, with 18.9% operating profit margin, compared to 12.1% from the prior-year period. Rich software capabilities combined with greater operational productivity helped accelerate revenue and profits. Based on the solid performance, the Company expects to continue to take share in both campus switching and WLAN.
- High Performance Compute & Mission Critical Systems (HPC & MCS) revenue was $762 million, down 9% year over year, with 5.6% operating profit margin, compared to 7.5% from the prior-year period. Despite inherent uneven nature of the business, the Company remains confident in the near-term and longer-term outlook for this business.
- Compute revenue was $3.0 billion, down 1% year over year or down 2% when adjusted for currency, with 11.5% operating profit margin, compared to 10.7% from the prior-year period.
- Storage revenue was $1.2 billion, down 5% year over year or down 6% when adjusted for currency, with 19.7% operating profit margin, compared to 20.0% from the prior-year period. Notable strength in software-defined solutions, including Nimble, up 31% from the prior-year period when adjusted for currency and All Flash Array Storage, up 5% from the prior-year period, driven by increased adoption of Primera All Flash.
- Financial Services revenue was $860 million, flat year over year or down 1% when adjusted for currency, with 9.8% operating profit margin, compared to 8.7% from the prior-year period. Net portfolio assets were up 3% year over year or flat when adjusted for currency. The business delivered return on equity of 16.5%, up 1.3 points from the prior-year period.