China's largest computer maker Lenovo said today that its first quarter profits saw steady growth thanks to sales of mobile phones and contributions from its recently acquired IBM personal computer unit.
The Hong Kong-listed company said net profit for the three months to the end of June had risen 6% to 357m Hong Kong dollars ($45.77m) from $336m in the first quarter last year.
'Our mobile handset unit delivered strong and profitable growth, and more importantly, the acquired PC business was profitable worldwide,' chairman Yang Yuanqing said.
Lenovo completed its $1.75 billion acquisition of IBM's PC unit in May. It will manufacture PCs for the global market with the IBM name under the deal signed last year, gaining some clout in competing with sector leaders Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
Yang said Lenovo's personal computer operations were profitable in China, the Americas and Europe. However, its operations in Asia recorded a small loss.
Revenue from its global PC business rose 7% year-on-year to 18.3 billion Hong Kong dollars in the first quarter, and was 14% higher than that of the preceding three months. Total revenue was 19.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, more than treble the 5.88 billion dollars posted a year earlier.
Earnings per share fell 8% year-on-year to 4.12 cents from 4.5 cents 'reflecting dilution related to the acquisition of IBM's PC division', the company said. The new Lenovo employs a total of 19,000 people worldwide.
