Dell computers pays $100m to settle SEC fraud charge

Dell has agreed to pay $100m to settle charges that the computer maker used accounting fraud to make it appear it was meeting analysts' profit forecasts.

Under the settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dell's chairman Michael Dell will pay a separate $4m civil penalty.

The SEC alleged that Dell did not disclose large payments received from Intel to not use chips made by a rival.

Dell and its executives have not admitted or denied the charges.

Mr Dell said in a statement: "We are pleased to have resolved this matter."

Under the settlement, former Dell chief executive Kevin Rollins will pay $4m, and former chief financial officer James Schneider $3m.

According to the SEC, Intel's exclusivity payments to Dell grew considerably over the years, peaking at 76% of Dell's operating income in the first quarter of fiscal 2007.

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Dell's board reaffirms its unanimous support for Michael Dell's continued leadership”

End Quote Sam Nunn Dell director

Without the Intel payments, Dell would have missed analysts' earnings-per-share estimate in every quarter from 2002 to the end of 2006.

Instead of disclosing the Intel payments as the reason for its improving profit margins, Dell cited cost cutting and "declining component costs".

The SEC said: "Dell manipulated its accounting over an extended period to project financial results that the company wished it had achieved, but could not.

"Dell was only able to meet Wall Street targets consistently during this period by breaking the rules," the SEC said.

Intel cut its payments after Dell started using chips from rival AMD. This led to a sharp drop Dell's operating results.

'Integrity'

Mr Dell, one of the industry's highest profile figures, said: "We are committed to maintaining clear and accurate reporting of our periodic results, supporting our customers, and executing our growth strategy."

In a statement from Dell, director Sam Nunn said: "The board believes that this settlement is in the best interest of the company, its customers and its shareholders, as it brings a five-year SEC investigation to closure.

"Dell's board reaffirms its unanimous support for Michael Dell's continued leadership, and the management team in its ongoing commitment to transparent accounting, integrity in financial reporting and strong corporate governance."

Ford posts another quarterly profit as sales climb

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. posted a strong second-quarter profit Friday but trimmed its U.S. sales forecast and predicted weaker results in the second half as the economy slowly recovers.

The automaker surprised Wall Street, making $2.6 billion in the quarter as it continued to grab sales from rivals. Ford's U.S. sales rose 28 percent in the first six months of this year. That's almost double the pace of industrywide sale

It was Ford's fifth straight quarterly profit, and the No. 2 U.S. automaker predicted a strong 2010 and even better 2011. But it said it will make less money in the second half of this year because of seasonal plant shutdowns, costs for new product launches and rising prices for raw materials like aluminum.

Vodafone returns to growth with rising revenues

Vodafone says quarterly service revenues have risen for the first time since the global recession hit.

The world's largest mobile operator by revenue saw organic service revenue rise 1.1% to £10.6bn in the April to June quarter, helped by improvements in Germany, Britain and Turkey.

The company said its focus in Europe on data traffic - accessing the internet - had improved its performance there.

In Turkey, Vodafone achieved its highest quarterly revenue to date.

The increase in service revenue comes after three successive quarters of falls for the Newbury-based firm..

"These are the first quarterly results to show service revenue growth since the global recession impacted," said chief executive Vittorio Colao.

Vodafone's last annual pre-tax profits, for the year to March, were £8.7bn.

Microsoft profits hit $4.5bn on Windows 7 sales

Microsoft has reported profits of $4.52bn (£2.96bn) for the three months between April and June - up 48% on the same period last year.

The software giant said strong sales of its Windows 7 operating system helped to boost profits.

The company said 175 million Windows 7 licences had now been sold since its launch last year.

Total revenues hit $16bn with strong sales from the Bing search engine and the Xbox games console.

Profits for the year to the end of June were $18.76bn, a 29% increase on the previous 12 months.

"The revenue growth, combined with our ongoing cost discipline, helped us achieve another quarter of margin expansion," said Peter Klein, Microsoft's chief financial officer.

As well as the launch of new products, including Office 2010 earlier this year, Microsoft has benefited from a rebound in technology spending.

Worldwide sales of personal computers have risen by more than 20% in the last three months, according to research company IDC.

Amazon profits up

Microsoft's strong results came amid a raft of positive corporate news from the US.

Online retailer Amazon also reported a big rise in its profits for the quarter, which were up by 45% on last year at $207m.

Amazon said a big increase in sales of electronic books for its Kindle device had helped profits.

Its flagship store Amazon.com is now selling more Kindle books than hard copies, the company said, with Kindle book sales now up 200% on the same time last year.

Earlier, machinery maker Caterpillar, delivery firm UPS and telecom AT&T also reported strong earnings.

In response, shares on Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up nearly 2%.

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