What’s new: Chinese consumer-electronics giant Lenovo Group Ltd. reported that its third-quarter revenue slipped 4.4% year-on-year to $17 billion, due to weak global demand and the yuan’s depreciation.
It’s the first revenue decline recorded by the world’s No. 1 PC vendor since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020.
Lenovo’s Thursday financial statement showed that net profit attributable to shareholders rose 5.7% year-on-year to $541.2 million, compared with 10.7% and 58.4% growth in the previous two quarters, respectively.
If the impact of the Chinese currency’s weakening exchange rate is excluded, then revenue rose 3% year-on-year, Chairman Yang Yuanqing said, adding that he is “satisfied” with the figure.
The context: Global demand for consumer electronics such as PCs and smartphones has slowed because of sluggish economic growth and inflation, after fiscal stimulus measures in developed countries created a buying spree last year.
Global PC shipments in the first three quarters of 2022 were 80.5 million units, 71.3 million units and 74.2 million units, down 5.1%, 15.3% and 15% year-on-year, respectively, according to data from market intelligence provider IDC. Lenovo’s PC shipments accounted for 22.7% of the global total in the third quarter; the second largest vendor HP Inc. held a 17.1% share.
In the third quarter, Lenovo’s revenue from consumer devices dropped 10.6% year-on-year, accounting for 76% of its total revenue, compared with 82.2% in the same period last year.
Revenue from selling servers and technology solutions to institutional clients grew 32.9% and 26.3%, respectively.
Related: Pandemic Proves a Boon for Lenovo
Contact reporter Guo Yingzhe (yingzheguo@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)
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