Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing (left) speaks next to NEC President Nobuhiro Endo to announce the launch of a joint venture in the personal computer business in Japan in January. Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP

Firm gains, but global growth insipid in Q2

Lenovo Group outpaced Acer Group to become the third largest personal computer (PC) vendor in the world with a market share of 12.2 percent in the second quarter of this year, benefiting from its expanded distribution channels.

Lenovo's worldwide PC sales increased by 22.9 percent to 10.27 million units in the second quarter from 8.36 million units, which represented a 10.2 percent market share during the same period last year, according to the latest report from global IT research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

The mainland-based PC maker's 22.9 percent shipment growth in the second quarter was the biggest gain among its global competitors.

Hewlett-Packard Co remained the world's top PC seller, accounting for 18.1 percent of the global market, IDC said. Dell Inc was second with a 12.9 percent market share. However, HP and Dell only registered mild increases of 3 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, in shipment volume during the period.

IDC report attributed the rise of Lenovo's market share in PC sales to the company's efforts to expand product distribution channels outside the Asia-Pacific region. It said the company has made remarkable progress in enhancing its market share in the US and Japan, helped by its joint venture with Japanese firm NEC.

"The new figures show Lenovo's improvement in gaining market share and investors are reassured that its future profitability can be maintained," Sincere Securities Chief Executive Officer Louie Shum told China Daily.

"As the global players in the PC manufacturing industry all have to confront the issue of rising cost pressures, it is therefore vital for Lenovo to maintain the competitiveness of its product lines to attract more business volumes in the future," Shum said.

The share price of Lenovo Group rose 0.8 percent to HK$4.81 at the close of Thursday trading.

Meanwhile, the IDC report said that global PC shipments in the second quarter rose less than forecast amid a sluggish economy and consumer preference for smartphones and Apple Inc's iPad media tablet. PC shipments climbed 2.6 percent, IDC said, just shy of the 2.9 percent increase the researcher had forecast.

Another IT research firm Gartner Inc said PC sales rose 2.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, compared with the 6.7 percent gain the firm predicted.

"These preliminary results continue to reflect pressure from competing consumer and business products as well as cautious spending," Jay Chou, a senior research analyst at Framingham, Massachusetts-based IDC, said in a statement.

PC sales in the US slipped 4.2 percent, hurt by falling sales for low-cost laptops, weaker demand among corporate buyers and lack of purchases by budget-strapped government agencies, IDC said. That compared to the 3 percent growth in the Japanese market and the 12 percent growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 84.4 million in the second quarter, according to IDC, while Gartner said global unit sales were 85.2 million in the quarter.

Bloomberg contributed to this story.

oswald@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 07/15/2011 page2)