Lenovo shows considerable growth in smartphone business, up 23pc

14 Aug 2014

Chinese tech manufacturer Lenovo appears to be following its compatriot companies, as its first-quarter report for this year shows a growth in its smartphone sales profits by 23pc compared with last year.

According to Reuters, the company’s earnings report shows it achieved a net income of US$214m in the first quarter, whereas in the first quarter of 2013, Lenovo posted a profit of just over US$174m.

This year’s results exceed expectations of market analysts from Thomson Reuters, who had expected the company to come closer to a figure of US$202m.

Despite being one of the world’s largest producers of desktop PCs, Lenovo, like many of its peers, is attempting to push itself away from what has, quarter-on-quarter, proven to be a flagging industry, in favour of producing smartphones and tablets.

Lenovo’s most recent attempt to enter the market has been seen with its US$5bn acquisition of the rights to Motorola’s brand, as well as IBM’s server units.

The company’s earnings report also reveals its handset shipment number has also grown by 39pc. This places Lenovo ahead of many of its Asian competitors to establish itself as the top-selling brand in its native China, yet other national brands such as Xiaomi are closing in fast.

However, Lenovo is still reliant on its PC business, for the time being at least, with 82pc of its entire sales still coming from the declining industry.

Lenovo image via Shutterstock

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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