LENOVO

Company has profit above estimates, sees growth with remote work

Lenovo, the world's largest computer maker, recorded a sharp drop in fourth-quarter fiscal profit caused by the coronavirus crisis, although the result was much better than expected.
Lenovo chairman Yang Yuanqing told Reuters that production was back to normal and expects to see revenue growth this quarter for computer, smart device and data center units as more people work from home.
The company estimates that in two to three years the total computer market across the industry could increase by 25% to 30%.
Net income fell 64% in the quarter ended in March, to 43 million dollars, above the average estimate compiled by Refinitiv, of 7.5 million dollars. Revenue fell 9.7% to $ 10.6 billion.
Lenovo had to close factories, including a large factory in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak in China, due to measures to contain the virus. At extreme times, the company had to share employees with other companies and send office employees to work on the assembly lines while those in production were quarantined.
"We have resumed 100% of production in China," Yang told Reuters, although he noted that some components are still missing.
Worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 12.3% in the first quarter of 2020, the biggest drop since 2013, research firm Gartner reported last month.

by Pei Li