The net profit for the first fiscal quarter slumped to US$130m, as the Texas-based group was studying a plan to delist and restructure in the face of shifting technology.
Earnings per share adjusted for special items amounted to 21 US cents a share, far below the average Wall Street estimate of 35 cents a share.
Revenues dipped two percent from a year ago to US$14.07bn, beating most analyst forecasts.
The results come with Dell and dissident shareholders locked in a battle over the company's value following a bid by founder Michael Dell to take the company private.
Michael Dell, who is heading the US$24.4bn offer for the company, has argued that a radical change is needed to get the company on track in a market shifting away from PCs to mobile devices.
But dissident investors led by corporate raider Carl Icahn have argued that the bid under-values Dell and that the private equity deal would be a "giveaway."
Icahn has proposed an alternative plan based on a so-called leveraged recapitalisation.
Icahn and the other dissident shareholders, who hold nearly 13% of Dell's shares, are urging shareholders to reject the private equity buyout and opt instead for its "superior" recapitalisation plan, keeping the company public.
In the quarterly results, Dell said revenues from its end-user computing segment fell nine percent and operating profits tumbled 16%.
The news was somewhat better in other areas where Dell has sought to diversify, such as servers and software.
"We made progress in building our enterprise solutions capabilities in the first quarter and are confident that our strategy to be the leading provider of end-to-end scalable solutions is right," said chief financial officer Brian Gladden.
"In addition, we have taken actions to improve our competitive position in key areas of the business, especially in end-user computing, and it has affected profitability. We'll also continue to make important investments to support our strategy and drive long-term profitability," he added.
Dell offered no forecast for the second quarter and executives said they would not comment on the buyout plans. It has created a special committee to study the private equity deal and other bids.
Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge
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