HP needs to 'reduce the drama'

New HP CEO Meg Whitman has recognised that the company struggled to overcome 'drama' in 2011, including the cancelling of the TouchPad tablet, the baffling purchase of British software firm Autonomy, and the ousting of former CEO Leo Apotheker.

Whitman made the comments in a conference call discussing the company's latest earnings report, which shows a 3% drop in non-GAAP net revenue compared with the same quarter twelve months previously.

Although the result was better than analysts had predicted, Whitman is keen to arrest the decline by returning to the company's fundamentals.

"We need to reduce the drama here," Whitman says.

Her actions have reflected this approach since she took over in September; it took just over one month to reverse her predecessor's bid to shave off HP's PC division, Personal Systems Group, and a decision on the company's operating software, webOS, is expected in coming weeks.

In the short term, Whitman also has to deal with the disruption in component supply caused by the recent flooding in Thailand.

After that Whitman says she will look at making some smaller acquisitions in the software space and increasing the company's R - D spend.

Shares in HP rose slightly following the announcement, but fell again by close of trading.