Lenovo hangs on to No 2 spot as global PC sales beat forecast

Chinese technology giant Lenovo Group held on to its position as the world’s second-largest supplier of personal computers in the third quarter, despite flat shipment growth that saw it struggle with weak notebook sales in North America.

Hong Kong-listed Lenovo shipped 14.5 million personal computers worldwide in the quarter ended September 30 to corner a 21.6 per cent share of the global market, behind market leader HP’s 22.8 per cent share on shipments of 15.3 million units, according to preliminary industry estimates from research firm IDC.

The results of the top two players last quarter marked some stability in the personal computer industry, which recorded just a 0.5 per cent year on year decrease in shipments to 60.3 million units during the period – better than IDC’s earlier prediction of a 1.4 per cent decline.

Loren Loverde, a vice-president at IDC, said the overall results “reflect the stabilisation we expected following component and inventory adjustments”.

Research firm Gartner, however, estimated a 3.6 per cent year on year fall in total global personal computer shipments to 67 million units in the third quarter.

“While there were signs of stabilisation in the PC industry in key regions, including Europe-Middle East-Africa, Japan and Latin America, the relatively stable results were offset by the US market, which saw a 10 per cent year over year decline in part because of a very weak back-to-school sales season,” said Mika Kitagawa, a principal analyst at Gartner.