DJ – Hewlett-Packard Co.’s (HPQ) fiscal first-quarter profit climbed 25% amid higher worldwide sales and profit growth in the company’s core personal computer business, where shipments also jumped.

The company also raised its full-year outlook. Shares rose 1.1% to $50.65 in after-hours trading.

Chief Executive Mark Hurd, on a conference call, characterized overall spending on information technology as a mixed picture. “We want to see whole of the quarter close before we make a call on true IT growth for year,” Hurd said on a conference call.

In an interview, Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak described the U.S. as “recovering.” Meanwhile, H-P’s revenue in China for PCs almost doubled in the quarter, she added.

But sales of H-P products in Europe remains inconsistent, she added. Some areas show signs of improvement one quarter, but then lose ground the next. “We’d like to see at least another quarter where things are more stable,” she said.

H-P has weathered the recession better than some of its competitors, and benefited recently by a jump in worldwide PC shipments at the end of 2009. Still, research firms Gartner and IDC each warned continued aggressive pricing could impact the industry’s profit margins.

Hurd said H-P gained share in the printer, server and PC markets during the quarter. He added the printer market is improving, and the company intends to beef up its sales force.

Analysts say the results are a good indicator for H-P, as well as IT spending. Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey said H-P is benefiting from a surge in sales of its personal computers and business services. “The results look pretty strong,” adds Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu. “Hewlett-Packard continues to execute in a tough macroeconomic environment.”

H-P sees second-quarter earnings of $1.03 to $1.05 on revenue of $29.4 billion to $29.7 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $1.03 and $29.03 billion, respectively. For the year, the company sees earnings of $4.37 to $4.44, up from its November view of $4.25 to $4.35, and expects revenue of $121.5 billion to $122.5 billion, up $3.5 billion.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest maker of personal computers posted a first-quarter profit of $2.32 billion, or 96 cents a share, up from $1.86 billion, or 75 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding charges related primarily to restructuring and acquisitions, earnings rose to $1.10 from 93 cents.

Revenue jumped 8.2%, to $31.18 billion for the period ended Jan. 31.

In November, the company estimated earnings of $1.03 to $1.05 on revenue of $29.6 billion to $29.9 billion.

H-P’s operating margin rose to 9.6% from 8.7%. In the face of falling PC prices, H-P has tried to maintain its profit margins by putting the squeeze on suppliers.

Revenue rose 9% in the Americas, and increased internationally, including a 26% jump in Asia Pacific. Revenue from outside the U.S. accounted for 65% of the total.

Profit at the core PC business rose 22%, while the segment’s unit shipments jumped 26%, “maintaining the leading market share position in PCs worldwide,” according to H-P. Notebook and desktop revenue each jumped by double-digits.

Revenue at H-P’s printer unit, which has concerned some analysts as consumers and businesses scale back, grew 3.8%, although profit declined 4.6%.

H-P now expects double digit percentage annual growth in laser printer and ink sales in its fiscal year. But at the same time, the company suffered printer supply constraints in its last quarter, which held back sales.

Some are expecting printer revenue to stabilize, although consumers seem to be printing less than in the past, relying instead on Web sites to share photographs.

-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480; john.kell@dowjones.com

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com

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