Sales and profit at PC maker Lenovo Group, Ltd.(LNVGY.OTC) spiked in the quarter ended March 31, fueled by growth in emerging markets. Lenovo, which has headquarters in Morrisville, NC, said it earned $140 million, or $1.44 per diluted share, in its fourth fiscal quarter. That’s up from $60 million, or 68 cents a diluted share, a year earlier. Sales increased 13.5 percent, to $3.73 billion, from $3.29 billion.
Lenovo, which bought IBM’s personal computer business in 2005 and is the largest computer retailer in China, said it increased shipments by 21 percent in the quarter. Its fastest areas of growth were Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where shipments grew by 30 percent in the quarter. In Greater China, which makes up about a third of Lenovo’s sales, shipments grew by 25 percent. Total sales in the area were $1.29 billion.
By contrast, shipments in the Americas grew by only 9 percent in the quarter. Lenovo said sales of notebook computers in the United States, in particular, were hurt by a slowing economy, while shipments in the company’s Asia Pacific business increased by 18 percent.
During the quarter, Lenovo launched its “IdeaPad” series of consumer notebooks, marking an entry into an area that’s expected to grow more quickly than Lenovo’s traditional business of selling to businesses. Notebook shipments increased by 38 percent in the quarter, Lenovo said, as laptop computers continued to become the norm and customers bought IdeaPads.
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