CHINA’S Lenovo Group Ltd., the world’s biggest maker of personal computers, yesterday posted a better-than-expected jump in first-quarter profit as COVID-19 curbs continued to spur work-from-home demand. Profit for the quarter ended June 30 rose 119 percent to US$466 million, versus US$213 million in the same quarter last year, and above an average estimate of US$345.23 million from six analysts, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue rose 27 percent to US$16.9 billion from US$13.3 billion a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of US$16 billion. Lenovo said a recovery in IT spending was strengthening demand and supporting higher average selling prices of its products, and it anticipated that the total personal computer market size would continue to grow over the next five years. “The accelerated digital and intelligent transformation has created significant market opportunities globally,” Lenovo’s chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing said in a statement. The results were the first earnings released by the company since it reorganized its business groups in February. Analysts say pandemic-driven consumer demand for personal computers is starting to slow, but shortages of components like chips, driven by stronger-than-expected global demand for personal computers, tablets and electronic cars, remain an industry concern. Worldwide shipments of personal computers rose 13 percent year on year to hit 82.3 million units in the second quarter of 2021, with desktop shipments growing for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2019, research firm Canalys said in a report last month. Lenovo extended its industry lead, shipping more than 20 million units for the third consecutive quarter to take 24.4 percent market share, compared with HP Inc. with 22.6 percent and Dell with 17 percent, Canalys said. (SD-Agencies) | 