Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has announced financial results for fiscal year 2021 and the fourth quarter, ended October 31, 2021.
“HPE ended fiscal year 2021 with record demand for our edge-to-cloud portfolio, and we are well positioned to capitalize on the significant opportunity in front of us,” said Antonio Neri, president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. “In 2021, we accelerated our pivot to as a service, strengthened our core capabilities, and invested in bold innovation in high-growth segments. As our customers continue to demand greater connectivity, access to solutions that allow them to extract value from their data no matter where it lives, and a cloud-everywhere experience, HPE is poised to accelerate our market leadership and provide strong shareholder returns.”
“HPE executed with discipline and exceeded all of our key financial targets in FY21.” said Tarek Robbiati, EVP and CFO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. “The demand environment has been incredibly strong and accelerated in the second half of the year, which gives us important momentum headed into next year. We are operating with greater focus and more agility and are well positioned to deliver against our FY22 outlook.”
Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results
Net revenue of $7.4 billion, up 7% sequentially and above normal sequential seasonality; up 2% from the prior-year period or flat when adjusted for currency.
Annualised revenue run-rate (ARR) of $796 million, up 36% from the prior-year period and total as-a-Service orders were up 114% from the prior-year period. Based on strong customer demand and growth in orders, we reiterate our 2021 Securities Analyst Meeting ARR guidance of 35-45% Compounded Annual Growth Rate from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2024.
GAAP gross margins of 32.9%, up 230 basis points from the prior-year period and Non-GAAP gross margins of 33.0%, up 230 basis points from the prior-year period.
GAAP diluted net EPS was $1.91, compared to $0.12 in the prior-year period and above the previously provided outlook of $0.14 to $0.22 per share, primarily due to the judgment in the Itanium litigation with Oracle.
Non-GAAP diluted net EPS was $0.52, compared to $0.41 in the prior-year period and at the high end of the previously provided outlook of $0.44 to $0.52 per share. Fourth quarter non-GAAP diluted net EPS excludes after-tax adjustments of $1.39 per diluted share primarily related to the judgment in the Itanium litigation with Oracle partially offset by transformation costs, early debt redemption costs, stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of intangible assets.
Segment Financial Results
- Intelligent Edge revenue was $815 million, up 4% from the prior-year period or 2% when adjusted for currency, with 10.7% operating profit margin, compared to 12.3% from the prior-year period. Aruba Services revenue was up high-single digits from the prior-year period when adjusted for currency and Intelligent Edge aaS ARR was up triple-digits from the prior-year period.
- High Performance Computing & Artificial Intelligence (HPC & AI) revenue was $1.0 billion, up 1% from the prior-year period or flat when adjusted for currency, with 14.3% operating profit margin, compared to 13.0% from the prior-year period. We remain on track to achieve 8-12% CAGR outlook from FY20 to FY22.
- Compute revenue was $3.2 billion, up 1% from the prior-year period or down 1% when adjusted for currency, with 9.4% operating profit margin, compared to 6.6% from the prior-year period. Revenue was up 4% from the prior-quarter period and 4% from the prior-quarter period when adjusted for currency, and above normal sequential seasonality.
- Storage revenue was $1.3 billion, up 3% from the prior-year period or up 2% when adjusted for currency, with 13.8% operating profit margin, compared to 18.2% from the prior-year period. All flash Arrays grew 7% from the prior-year period led by Primera, up strong double-digits from the prior-year period. Notable strength in software-defined solutions, including Nimble, up 4% from the prior-year period with strong momentum in dHCI growing double-digits.
- Financial Services revenue was $858 million, up 1% from the prior-year period or flat when adjusted for currency, with 14.1% operating profit margin, compared to 7.8% from the prior-year period. Net portfolio assets were flat from the prior-year period or down 1% when adjusted for currency. The business delivered return on equity of 23.8%, up 10.9 points from the prior-year period.
Fiscal Year 2021 Full-Year Financial Results
Net revenue of $27.8 billion, up 3% from the prior-year period or up 1% when adjusted for currency.
Note - HPE has not released the financial results of Indian markets.