Industry bellwether HP enjoyed a solid third quarter, posting double digit growth in both turnover and profit.

Worldwide revenue for the three months to 31 July was $28bn (£15bn), an increase of 10 per cent on Q3 2007, while net profit rose 14 per cent to $2.03bn. EMEA revenue grew 16 per cent to $11.2bn, while US revenue stood at $11.6bn, a four per cent rise.

Revenue from the Asia-Pacific region increased 14 per cent to $5.2bn. The BRIC region, (Brazil, Russia, India and China), enjoyed a 24 per cent spike in revenue to account for one tenth of the global total. Notebook revenue rose 26 per cent, compared to a six per cent rise in desktop revenue.

The vendor's Imaging and Printing Group saw revenue grow three per cent on the back of a two per cent decline in printer shipments. Personal Systems Group revenue was up 15 per cent on last year to $10.3bn, with shipments rising 20 per cent.

Turnover from the company's Enterprise Storage and Servers arm was up five per cent to $4.7bn, while HP Services revenue rose 14 per cent to $4.8bn. Software revenue swelled by 29 per cent to $781m and Financial Services revenue was up 17 per cent to $680m.

HP predicted that Q4 revenues would hit between $30.2bn and $30.3bn and chief executive Mark Hurd said: "By accelerating our enterprise growth and executing well across the portfolio, HP delivered a strong third quarter performance. Our global position, broad product and services offerings and incremental cost saving opportunities make us confident that we will continue to meaningfully expand earnings."