Dell earnings down 31 percent in 4Q

(AP) Dell Inc.'s net income fell 31 percent in the latest quarter as the company continued to be hurt by a shrinking PC market.

Dell's founder and CEO Michael Dell and a group of investors are buying the company for $24.4 billion with a plan to turn it around.

Dell posted net income of $530 million, or 30 cents per share, for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in January. That was down from $764 million, or 43 cents per share, in the quarter a year ago.

Excluding acquisition- and severance-related charges, earnings were 40 cents per share, beating by 1 cent the average forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue was $14.3 billion, down 11 percent from a year ago. It beat analyst expectations at $14.1 billion.