Dell has vast potential for providing great value to more customers around the world, resulting in continued expansion, growth and profitability, CEO Kevin Rollins told shareholders today at the company's annual meeting.
"Even with our extraordinary success, we have barely begun to tap opportunities available to us," Rollins said. "Our revenue last year accounted for only about 4 percent of global spending on information-technology products and services, so we have tremendous room to grow.
"We intend to realize that opportunity, to the benefit of customers and Dell shareholders."
Rollins said even as many technology companies have struggled over the past five years, Dell revenue has increased 58 percent. Earnings per share are up 98 percent during the same period. Still, he said the company's fiscal 2005 revenue of $49.2 billion-within $1.4 trillion in total technology sales-portends significant potential.
Rollins addressed Dell's goal to reach $80 billion in revenue in three to four years, which would represent unprecedented growth for a company its size. Continued growth in servers and storage systems; enhanced services; mobility products including notebook computers; imaging and printing; and televisions and monitors-particularly in regions outside the United States where Dell's presence is younger and its share smaller-account for company optimism about reaching such a scale.
Imaging and printing provides a related illustration. Rollins disclosed at the meeting that Dell has shipped 10 million printers in just more than the two years since the company introduced the first of its own line of printers. Dell now is No. 2 in the U.S. in both the inkjet and laser categories with a broad and growing range of printers, and a unique, easy service for customers to purchase replacement ink, toner and other supplies.
"We are focusing on opportunities with a wide-angle lens," Rollins said. "We continue to identify product and service categories where customers are paying too much for technology and services, even as we expand our capabilities in existing areas. Customer satisfaction remains essential to us and to our success."
Dell is expanding significantly around the world in order to best meet customer requirements. A new manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem, N.C.-the company''s largest-will begin operations in September. The company is also increasing its manufacturing capacity in Xiamen, China. Dell is also adding a second building to and increasing employment at its customer-contact center in Oklahoma City and opened new centers in El Salvador and Chandigarh, India, earlier this year.
