Dell's sales were up 9 per cent to $15.6bn (£7.6bn) in the third quarter, a record figure for the period.

Desktop revenue totalled $4.8bn (£2.3bn), sales of mobile devices rose 19 per cent to $3.9bn (£1.9bn), and server revenue rose eight per cent to $1.5bn (£729m).

Earnings per share up 26 per cent to 34 cents is equivalent to profit of $766m (£372m) for the quarter.

The firm's US share price dipped 10 per cent on the news. But despite the negative reaction to the results, Dell is still performing well, said Ovum analyst Ian Brown.

"Wall Street expected higher earnings, but Dell is still restructuring, investing in its own IT infrastructure, and acquiring software and services companies to plug gaps in its portfolio," said Brown.

"The key thing for Dell is that it can shrug off some of the negative press suggesting it had lost its way and its star had burned out.

"These results suggest the trajectory is on the upward path again and if it can do the same again in the next quarter, we think even the Street will start to come round. "