Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's largest personal-computer maker, reported a 14 percent increase in third-quarter profit, beating analysts' estimates, as new designs attracted notebook buyers. The shares gained 2.6 percent.

Net income rose to $2.03 billion, or 80 cents a share, from $1.78 billion, or 66 cents, a year earlier, Hewlett-Packard said.

Hewlett-Packard's profit forecast topped analysts' estimates. Computer sales rose 15 percent last quarter after Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd introduced sleeker designs and metallic finishes to increase revenue from notebooks.

Hewlett-Packard gets a third of its sales from PCs and took the lead in the market from Dell Inc. two years ago.

"These results are quite strong," said Shaw Wu, an analyst at American Technology Research in San Francisco. "It's the broadness of their portfolio and international mix that allows them to do better than Dell."

Third-quarter sales increased 10 percent to $28 billion, compared with the average estimate of $27.4 billion by analysts. Sales rose 14 percent in Asia Pacific.

For the fourth quarter ending in October, sales are expected to be $30.2 billion to $30.3 billion, and profit, excluding some costs, is expected to be $1.01 to $1.03 a share.

Shares of Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, Calif., rose $1.13 to $44.82 in extended trading after closing at $43.69 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have declined 13 percent this year, compared with a less than 1 percent drop for Dell.