Lenovo profit beats estimates despite lockdown-hit demand

Beijing has ordered central government agencies and state-owned enterprises to scrap foreign-branded PCs for local names in the next two years

Lenovo held on to its top spot in the worldwide PC market in the first quarter with almost 23% market share.

Thu, 26 May, 2022 - 18:00

The company behind Lenovo laptops saw its profit beat market estimates after the world’s biggest personal computer maker widened its lead over long-time rival HP Inc.

Net income of the Chinese PC giant jumped 58% to $412m (€384m) in the first three months of the year, a company filing shows, higher than analysts’ average estimate of $354m.

Top spot

Lenovo held on to its top spot in the worldwide PC market in the first quarter with almost 23% market share.

HP, its biggest rival, saw its market share slump below 20% following supply chain and logistics challenges, research firm IDC said.

PC vendors are searching for new growth to replace demand from remote work and online learning as economies resume pre-pandemic activity.

Demand

Beijing has ordered central government agencies and state-owned enterprises to scrap foreign-branded PCs for local names in the next two years.

That creates demand for at least 50m PCs from local manufacturers such as Lenovo, Bloomberg News reported in May.

“The macro landscape remains challenging due to factors as varied as climate change, the digital divide, the ongoing pandemic, and newly emerged geopolitical risks,” Lenovo said in its earnings announcement.