Technology giant IBM has posted 7 per cent growth in net income to USD 3.1 billion in three month to March,2012 helped by higher revenues from the BRIC countries coupled with strong performance of software and services segments. The entity had a net income of USD 2.9 billion in the January-March quarter of 2011,IBM said in a statement. IBM's first quarterly earnings were mainly driven by double-digit revenue growth in BRIC countries Brazil,Russia,India and China - and robust revenue contributions from software and services segments. Revenues for the first quarter ended March 31,2012,were flat at USD 24.7 billion om the year-ago period. "In the first quarter,we drove strong profit and earnings per share growth. We delivered another excellent software performance,expanded services margins,and continued the momentum in our growth initiatives," IBM president and CEO Ginni Rometty said. "Our investments in growth market countries continued to generate strong revenue growth across software,hardware and services while contributing to the company¿s ongoing margin expansion," Rometty added. The company said that based on this performance,it is raising full-year operating earnings per share expectations to at least USD 15. In terms of geographical analysis,revenues from the BRIC countries Brazil,Russia,India and China surged 10 per cent during the quarter under review. In addition,revenues from Asia-Pacific operations rose by 4 per cent to USD 6.1 billion and Americas' revenues were USD 10.5 billion,an increase of 1 per cent from the 2011 period. However,the tech firm's revenues from Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) were USD 7.6 billion,down 2 per cent. IBM's software and services revenue increased,however,hardware and financing segments saw a decline. The company has been focusing on its software and services which have higher profit margins. Separately,software business - the company's largest segment - generated a revenue of USD 5.6 billion,up 5 per cent,while revenues from global technology services segment grew by 2 per cent to USD 10 billion. In hardware segment,the company witnessed a 7 per cent decline in revenues to USD 3.7 billion for the quarter under review and revenues from financing segment decreased 5 per cent to USD 490 million.
