US computer-maker Dell has extended its lead in the worldwide PC market and now accounts for 17.9pc of shipments, new data from Gartner shows.
Dell shifted 8.7 million units during the second-quarter 2005, compared to Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) 7.1 million and third-placed Lenovo’s 3.5 million.
Dell experienced much higher growth rates outside the US, but it also grew ahead of the market rate in its domestic market, where the bulk of its shipments are made.
HP’s PC shipments growth rate exceeded the worldwide average, as the company performed well in the EMEA and Asian-Pacific regions.
Worldwide PC shipments totalled 48.9 million units in the second quarter of 2005, a 14.8pc increase from the same period last year.
“Demand for mobile-form factors accelerated sales during the second quarter,” commented Charles Smulders, vice-president of Gartner’s Computing Platforms Worldwide Group. “Aggressive price cutting was also a significant factor in driving demand for desktop PCs.”
Despite the glowing market statistics, PC makers could be in for a bumpier ride in the second half of the year, Smulders warned. “While shipment picture was better than Gartner expected, it was another quarter of intense price competition for the PC vendors,” he said. “Even so, we expect the operating environment to get yet more difficult in the second half of 2005 as PC replacement opportunities decline.”
According to Gartner’s data, the top five PC vendors during the quarter were: Dell (17.9pc market share), HP (14.6pc), Lenovo (7.2pc), Acer (4.3pc) and Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens (3.6pc). Acer was the fastest-growing firm within the top five, increasing its unit sales by 67.6pc, from 1.26 million units in Q2 2004 to 2.11 million in Q2 2005.
By Brian Skelly
