HP saw profits for the quarter plunge by 91% from the same period in 2010 to $239m, while revenues during the three-month period were off 3.5% to $32.2bn. Overall HP's consumer business was off 9% year-over-year while business sales were off 2%.

The company's printing and imaging division saw a 10% drop in net revenue to $6.3bn, despite a 4% rise in commercial printer product sales to $1.6bn. Ink supply revenue fell by 14% in the quarter. Overall, imaging and printing operating income fell to $808m, down from $1.22bn from Q4 of last year - in part because its ink supply revenue fell by 14% in the quarter.

HP Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak, offered few insights into the printing and imaging division during a conference call with analysts, saying only, "Margins were unfavorably impacted by the strong Yen and lower-than-normal supplies... as we continue to work down high supply channel inventory."

Sales in HP's core PC business - which the company had earlier indicated it might sell, though it since had a change of heart - fell by 1.6%, though unit shipments were up 2%.

During the analyst call, Whitman, the former head of eBay who took over HP two months ago following the departure of former CEO Leo Apotheker, sought to rebuild expectations about the company and stressed that the company would recommit to R&D. "We aren't building for next month or next quarter," she said. "We are building this company to be great over the next decade."

Noting that HP's debt had nearly doubled over the past 12 months to $22.6bn - largely due to an acquisition binge by Apotheker that including buying UK-based software firm Autonomy for $10.3bn in a deal that was finalized in August - Whitman stressed the company would be cautious about buying new businesses. "HP is getting back to business fundamentals in 2012 - no more surprises," she added. "In the midterm we really want to focus on building back our balance sheet."