SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dell Inc forecast disappointing second-quarter revenue as U.S. and European corporate tech-spending weakens and consumer personal computer sales continue to shrink, hammering its shares.
Shares in the company, which like rival Hewlett-Packard Co is losing market share to mobile devices such as Apple Inc's iPad, dived more than 9 percent in after hours trade.
The world's No. 3 PC maker forecast a 2 to 4 percent revenue gain this fiscal quarter, to $14.7 billion to $15 billion, well short of the $15.4 billion Wall Street had been expecting.
'Clearly we are seeing a bit more challenging demand environment,' Dell Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden said in an interview. 'Europe, in general, was down for us.'
Demand from U.S. federal businesses appears to be improving slightly, he noted. 'We are seeing a pretty good pipeline there.'
Dell's quarterly revenue fell more than analysts had expected, hurt by weak sales to consumers, large enterprises and government units. PC makers have struggled with slowing demand as mobile devices such as the iPad erode market share.
Sales to consumers took a big hit, with consumer revenue slipping 12 percent to $3 billion. Sales to large corporations declined 3 percent to $4.4 billion.
Dell said revenue in its fiscal first quarter declined 4 percent to $14.4 billion, below the average analyst estimate of $14.9 billion according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned 43 cents, less than the average Wall Street estimate of 46 cents.
Net income fell to $635 million, or 36 cents a share, from $945 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier.
Dell's shares traded at $13.50 after hours, down from a $15.08 close on Nasdaq.
(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; Editing by Richard Chang)
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