Lenovo powers to strong quarter on the back of smartphone growth

Lenovo said it shifted more smartphones than PCs for the first time ever in the quarter to June 30, with a record volume of 15.8 million units, up 39 per cent.

That’s a significant statistic given that Lenovo is the world’s largest PC vendor.

Citing figures from IDC, the company said that it “surpassed Samsung to become the largest smartphone maker” in China. But this contrasts with figures from Canalys, which gave Xiaomi top-spot ahead of Samsung.

Some 13 million of Lenovo’s smartphones went to its home market. The company said that with regard to mobile devices, it “continued to improve profitability with broadened routes to market and a greater focus on Internet-enabled, open market sales”.

International sales represented “nearly 20 per cent” of the total, compared with around five per cent a year ago.

The company also said that it saw smartphone shipments pass one million devices in the EMEA region for the first time (up 500 per cent). Smartphone shipments in APAC were 1.5 million units, up 3.7 times from the same quarter last year. It also ships devices to Latin America.

Consolidated revenue in Lenovo’s Mobile Device Business, which includes smartphones and tablets, increased 32 per cent year-over-year to US$1.6 billion, representing 15 per cent of total revenue.

With regard to the Motorola Mobility acquisition, Lenovo said that it “remains confident we can turn [Motorola] around in four to six quarters after [the] deal closes”.

On a group level, the company reported a profit attributable to shareholders of US$214 million, up 23 per cent year-on-year, on revenue of US$10.4 billion, up 18 per cent.