EMC to buy back $1bn in shares as profits fall 1.2%

EMC, the world’s biggest maker of storage computers, plans to buy back $1bn (€770m) in shares this year after reporting first-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates as customers restrained spending.

Net profit fell 1.2% to $580.1m, or 26 cents a share, from $586.8m, a year earlier, the US multinational said yesterday.

Excluding some costs, profit was 39 cents a share, missing the 40-cent average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 5.8% to $5.39bn, compared with the $5.42bn average analyst projection.