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Dell: Hitting the $80bn target

John G. Spooner CNET News.com

Published: 08 Apr 2005 17:25 BST

Dell not only wants to move beyond its image as just a PC maker — it needs to.

Central to that shift are plans to continue expanding into markets adjacent to the PC, such as printers, servers, storage and even televisions, company executives said on Thursday at Dell's annual financial analyst meeting in Austin, Texas.

The company is making such moves to reach its new target of $80bn (£43bn) in annual revenue over the next three to four years. Last year, it took in $49bn. The expansion would also help make Dell less subject to the ups and downs of the PC market and more of a broad-based technology company.

Top goals for Dell will be to boost its share of the server market, its sales of storage systems and its position in printers. By expanding printer sales, for example, it can also expand revenue annuities that come from printing supplies.

Over time, Dell's PC unit sales will become less of an indication of how the company is performing, CEO Kevin Rollins said at the meeting.

"While we're still interested in PC growth, it's not going to be the predictor it once was," Rollins said.

At the same time, Dell sees opportunities in the uncertainties created by rival HP's recent change in leadership and IBM's decision to sell its PC business to Lenovo Group.

At Thursday's meeting, executives reaffirmed Dell's first fiscal-quarter revenue forecast of $13.4bn.