By Brenda Goh
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Third-quarter profit jumped 62% to an all-time high of $640 million at China’s Lenovo Group, the world’s biggest maker of personal computers said on Wednesday, as the growing popularity of hybrid work arrangements boosts demand for PCs.
Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 17% to $20.1 billion, also a record and ahead of an average estimate of $18.4 billion from 10 analysts, according to Refinitiv data.
“Structural industry forces dominated the global market, including accelerated digital transformation investments, new IT service requirements, the ever-increasing popularity of cloud and the trend of hybrid working,” Lenovo said in a statement.
“These market tailwinds served as a strong catalyst for the company’s robust double-digit growth across its three business groups.”
Lenovo said worldwide demand for commercial PCs, excluding the Chromebook, in the quarter increased at the third highest rate of growth since 1998. Customers were buying more premium, portable and high-quality PCs due to the growing prominence of remote working.
While a global shortage of semiconductors, which has affected various industries including automakers, remained a business challenge, there were signs of easing, Lenovo said, adding that it was on track to deliver its medium-term target of doubling its net income margin.
Lenovo is the world’s largest PC maker, having captured a 24.6% market share of worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2021, followed by HP Inc and Dell, according to consultancy Gartner.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Richard Pullin)
