China's Lenovo shrugs off concerns that global PC market is shrinking

Revenues for the world's largest PC-maker Lenovo fell for a 3rd consecutive 4th arsenic planetary request for idiosyncratic computers proceed to slump, but the institution is not worried, says CFO Wong Wai-Ming.

"We are fig 1 successful PC. Clearly, erstwhile the marketplace really returns backmost to much normal, we volition decidedly beryllium growing," Wong Wai-Ming, CFO of Lenovo, told CNBC.

He added that the institution is really seeing higher maturation successful different businesses specified arsenic infrastructure solutions and services.

In its latest net report connected Wednesday, Lenovo said it expects "the PC marketplace volition instrumentality to growth" successful the 2nd fractional 2023.

The institution posted a gross diminution successful the January to March quarter. Revenue successful the 4th amounted to $12.63 billion, down 24% from a twelvemonth agone and marked the 3rd consecutive 4th of year-on-year decline.

"Fiscal twelvemonth Q4 was the astir challenging 4th of the twelvemonth fixed pressures from some the PC marketplace and the planetary economy," said Lenovo successful the net report.

But the CFO is optimistic that its non-PC businesses — devices, infrastructure solutions arsenic good arsenic solutions & services — tin assistance diversify the business.

"Our gross connected a afloat twelvemonth ground successful information didn't really driblet that overmuch due to the fact that the different 2 concern groups person been driving important maturation successful portion by the infrastructure business. The borderline has besides been mitigated oregon compensated by our important maturation successful our services business," said Wong.

Lenovo's non-PC businesses grew 7% and present dwell of astir 40% of full gross for the afloat twelvemonth done March. The different 60% of gross inactive comes from the PC business.

"Our non-PC businesses' gross premix accrued to astir 40%. Our wide strategy is working, and our cognition is resilient, adjacent successful the look of planetary uncertainties," said Yuanqing Yang, president and CEO of Lenovo Group during the net call. "Going forward, we volition proceed to put successful [research and development] to seizure the adjacent question of maturation opportunities, truthful we are good prepared for the future."

PC makers were a beneficiary of a pandemic-led roar that saw consumers and firms drawback up laptops, tablets and notebooks to modulation from moving successful bureau to distant work. But arsenic workers returned to the office, PC shipments fell.

Worldwide shipments of desktops and laptops contracted astir 30% to 56.9 cardinal units successful the archetypal 4th of 2023 arsenic compared to a twelvemonth ago, according to IDC data.

Lenovo's devices gross declined 33% year-to-year successful the archetypal quarter.

But Wong is optimistic astir artificial quality driving the firm's devices business. The acceleration of digitization, AI and chatbots "actually necessitate devices" to leverage them, Wong told CNBC.

"Eventually we volition person 3 large concern maturation driving the gross alternatively than what we had successful the past — conscionable having PC arsenic our superior driver. We volition implicit clip person 3 concern groups driving profitability," said Wong.

Lenovo's shares were down 1.8% successful Thursday greeting trade.