Chief Financial Officer of Dell Inc., Brian Gladden, said during a conference call that the PC maker grew at a reasonable pace in August, but sales fell off in September and October, as the global economic slowdown pinched tech spending. Dell reported quarterly sales of $15.16 billion, which dropped 3% from a year ago.

The third-quarter profit of the company fell 5 percent as businesses around the world bought fewer computers and other technology products. Its earnings dipped to $727 million in the quarter that ended October 31, down from $766 million a year ago.

Michael Dell, Chairman and Chief Executive of the company noted that customers want more for their money in the economic slowdown. Dell said: “The range of the global economic challenge is obvious to everyone. Customers of all types are still buying technology, but they’re doing so at slower rates, and want to save money when they’re buying and using IT. We’re simplifying IT, reducing costs and maximizing productivity for customers.”

The company said it would focus on cutting costs in the future, and that there would be costs associated with continued headcount reduction and other business realignments. According to prepared statements and comments in the conference call, cutting costs as a way to deal with the slowdown in technology spending. Gladden said: “In this environment, we are going to be very aggressive with costs. It is the one level we can control.”

Dell clarified on the call: “Given the choice between profits and growth, we are going to go for the profits. Our belief is that with the changes we are making in our cost structure, we will be able to do both.”