Synnex: HP Announcements Weren't Disruptive

"As Meg [Whitman, HP's new CEO] put it, HP is a very important player in the IT industry and will continue to be [so]. They're also a very important partner to us. Shortly after the announcements the last couple of months, we are focused on working with HP to protect the business we had," Murai said during a conference call with analysts. "Things have settled down quickly and we continue to work with them make sure they're successful and they grow."

The turmoil surrounding HP's announcement that it would sell or spin off the PC business did not have any lingering impact on HP sales in the third quarter, Murai said.

"The dust settled on the announcements within days of the big announcements. We were able to work with them and presereve the pipeline of business that we had [with HP]," Murai said on the call.

Murai was a bit more evasive as to whether Dell or any other PC competitors looking to strike while HP's PC future is up in the air would have any impact going forward.

"HP and others are very sensitive to their own market sharer performance. They're always protecting share. We tend to take on the strategy of not focusing on every player category by category but picking the ones that make the best use of the channel and the capabilities that Synnex has to drive more success," Murai said.

Meanwhile, Synnex beat third-quarter earnings estimates thanks to increased market share in its commercial business and solid execution in key growth markets, according to the Fremont, Calif.-based distributor.

"We continue to see strength in SMB and other commercial markets and the government business as well," Murai said. "Not only is demand relatively stable and solid but we're also gaining a little share as well. Our crystal ball is not perfect, but we're pretty confident that the market will be relatively strong and certainly stable."

Synnex matched analysts' revenue estimates for the quarter of $2.57 billion, but blew earnings estimates (89 cents per share) out of the water by earning $1.09 per share. Overall, the distributor earned $39.0 million. In the year-ago quarter, Synnex reported $30.9 million in profit of $2.18 billion.

The company's distribution business increased 17.9 percent from the year-ago quarter to $2.54 billion. The year-ago results included $77.4 million from the contract assembly business that Synnex sold in the third quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, last quarter's results include $297 million in sales attributed to Synnex Infotec, acquired last December.

Synnex's Global Business Services revenue increased 31 percent to $40.5 million.

For the fourth fiscal quarter, Synnex expects earnings per share between $1.11 to $1.15 per share on sales of $2.78 billion to $2.88 billion. For the quarter ending Nov. 30, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.11 per share on $2.82 billion in sales, prior to today's financials update.

Synnex shares closed at $24.91 Tuesday, up $1.22 per share or 5.2 percent.