Making your own luck

20 November 2012 By Robert Cyran Follow @rob_cyran

Sure, the granddaddy of Silicon Valley blames accounting improprieties at the UK software company it bought for nearly $12 bln last year. But HP, facing declining businesses and boardroom disarray, was too eager. CEO Meg Whitman’s already tough job just got even harder.

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Hewlett-Packard on Nov. 20 announced an $8.8 billion charge, mostly relating to what the company said was improper accounting at Autonomy, the software company it purchased in 2011 for $11.7 billion. HP said former members of Autonomy’s management team appear to have made a “willful effort to mislead investors and potential buyers.”

HP said it had referred the matter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office for civil and criminal investigation.

HP also reported net revenue of $30 billion for its fourth quarter ending Oct. 31, a decrease of 7 percent from the same period last year. The company had a net loss of $3.49 cents per share. This figure includes the writedown.

The company’s stock fell 13 percent in early trading in New York on Nov. 20.

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