With Brisk Business at Home, China’s Lenovo Reports $8 Billion in Quarterly Sales

New ThinkPad X131e Laptop

Last month we cited figures from IDC which indicated that Chinese PC maker Lenovo (HKG:0992) is poised to we pass Hewlett Packard as the global leader in PC shipments sometime this year [1]. And now today the company’s first quarter report gives further indications that Lenovo is a company on the rise.

Key metrics for the company include its record marketshare of 15 percent, as well as quarterly sales of over $8 billion, up 35 percent from the same time the previous year. Operating profit was up to $182 million, up 48 percent from the year before, although profit margins are still behind its competition. The company’s CEO, Yang Yuanqing noted in the announcement:

Our businesses in emerging markets outside of China, our consumer business and MIDH business all achieved rapid expansion, providing the balanced pillars to support our overall performance. Our business in China and our global commercial business maintained strong profitability, which allows us to secure plenty of resources to invest in growth areas and ensure the company’s overall healthy performance.

Indeed, the company’s sales in China were up 24 percent accounting for a remarkable 44 percent of its worldwide sales, as well as 35 percent market share in the PC space. It held the number one spot in Japan as well with 25.4 percent market share, thanks to its joint venture with NEC, putting it well ahead of its nearest competitor Fujitsu at 15.3 percent.

As for the US market, Lenovo is still far behind Hewlett Packard, but has aspirations of taking a big bite out of the PC space there as well. The company is also making progress in the mega-markets of India and Brazil as well. It will be interesting to see how the PC wars will look a year from now, because Lenovo looks to be on a far different path than the competition.