IBM said its revenue slipped three percent to $21.76 billion in the three months ended December 31 – due to poor business in hardware segment.
Armonk, New York-based IBM generates over 60 percent of its revenue from outside the United States.
IBM generated Q4 revenue of $10.2 billion (–4 percent) from Americas, $7.2 billion (+2 percent) from Europe, Middle East and Africa and $4.5 billion (–1 percent) from Asia Pacific including India, China and Japan.
IBM in Q4 2018
IBM generated revenues of $5.5 billion, flat (up 2 percent adjusting for currency) from Cognitive Solutions.
IBM generated revenues of $4.3 billion, up 4 percent (up 6 percent adjusting for currency) from Global Business Services.
IBM generated revenues of $8.9 billion, down 3 percent (flat adjusting for currency) from Technology Services & Cloud Platforms.
IBM generated revenues of $2.6 billion, down 21 percent (down 20 percent adjusting for currency) from Systems.
IBM generated revenues of $402 million, down 11 percent (down 9 percent adjusting for currency) from Global Financing.
Demand for IBM Cloud Private for data offering accelerated, and now over 100 clients have adopted the platform after launching the service over six months ago.
New clients include the Korea Internet and Security Agency, which is developing an app on ICP for Data that leverages data sources and machine learning models to find and cut cyber threats.
BNP Paribas has selected IBM to strengthen its cloud environment, with a hybrid multi-cloud approach, bringing together the IBM Cloud, private clouds, along with existing infrastructure, IBM CFO Jim Kavanaugh said.
IBM has posted revenue of $79.6 billion in 2018, registering 1 percent growth and flat adjusting for currency – achieving the first annual revenue growth since 2011. The strengthening of the dollar cost over $2 billion of revenue in 2018.
IBM’s forecast for 2019 indicates that chief executive officer Ginni Rometty’s efforts to turn around the technology services company are gaining traction.
Ginni Rometty, who has been CEO since 2012, has steered the technology company toward faster-growing segments such as cloud, software and services and away from traditional hardware products.
IBM chief financial officer James Kavanaugh told Reuters that IBM signed roughly $16 billion worth of contracts in the quarter.
IBM in October agreed to buy software company Red Hat for $34 billion, the company’s biggest acquisition in its more than 100-year history.
IBM’s cloud strategy has focused on helping companies stitch together multiple cloud platforms rather than compete head on with “hyperscale” cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Alphabet Inc’s Google, Reuters reported.
IBM said its gross profit margin, another closely monitored metric, expanded to 49.1 percent compared with 49 percent a year ago and it expects to build on that momentum in 2019.
Rajani Baburajan
