Dell Inc posted quarterly revenue that fell a steeper-than-expected 15 percent, sending shares of the No. 3 maker of personal computers down more than 7 percent after hours.

Dell on Thursday reported a net profit of $337 million, or 17 cents a share, for its fiscal third quarter ended October 30, down from $727 million, or 37 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue fell 15 percent to $12.9 billion, missing the average analyst estimate of $13.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Although Dell did not provide a formal outlook, it said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to improve from the third quarter.

We are seeing improvement in overall underlying IT demand that is continuing into the fourth quarter, Chief Executive Michael Dell said in a statement

Shares of Round Rock, Texas-based Dell closed down 19 cents at $15.87 on Nasdaq and fell to $14.68 in extended trading.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Richard Chang)

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