Dell, HP Mull Japan Quake Impact

Hewlett-Packard Co is assessing the impact to its business from the disaster that struck Japan earlier this month while rival Dell said it sees no immediate disruption to its supply chain.

None of HP's offices around Tokyo sustained major structural damage, the computer maker said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It also said that all its employees are safe.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said in a statement to Reuters that it is still assessing the impact of the disaster on its operations, but that "We do not see any significant immediate supply chain disruption given the existing supply positions in the industry."

More than 10 days after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and 10-meter tsunami struck the northeast of Japan, many electronics manufacturers are struggling to get back up to speed as factories grapple with power cuts, crippled infrastructure and a shortage of parts.

Japan supplies about a fifth of the world's semiconductors and 14 percent of all electronic equipment manufacturing, according to IHS iSuppli.

"The crisis in Japan is already impacting component prices and the importance of Japan for the memory market will be a worry," said Canalys PC analyst Tim Coulling.

"Though production has increasingly been outsourced to China, South Korea and other lower-cost markets, there are over 40 factories in Japan producing a significant proportion of the world's PC and smart phone components," he said.

Dell said its fulfillment centers in Narita and Osaka were not damaged.

Shares of HP were down 0.67 percent at $41.50 while Dell's stock was flat.

HP said it obtains components used to manufacture some of its products from suppliers with operations in Japan, and that revenue from Japan historically has accounted for 3 to 4 percent of its total revenue.

Those components include LaserJet printer engines and toner, which it gets from a partner with manufacturing facilities in Japan, HP said.

(Reporting by Robert MacMillan in Bangalore and Noel Randewich in San Francisco. Additional reporting by Tarmo Virki in Helsinki, editing by Matthew Lewis))