Global PC shipments in Q2 better than expected

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Global shipments of personal computers fell less than expected in the second quarter, according to data released on Wednesday, underscoring optimism sparked by Intel Corp's results.

Taiwan's Acer Inc continued to gain on Dell Inc, which recovered its top U.S. ranking but ceded market share to its rivals elsewhere, industry tracker IDC said.

Worldwide PC shipments fell about 3 per cent from the year-ago quarter, which was better than its forecast of a more than 6 per cent drop, IDC said.

Gartner, which also tracks such numbers, estimated second-quarter PC shipments slid 5 per cent year on year, compared with an expected decline of nearly 10 per cent.

Intel, whose microprocessors are found in more than three-quarters of the world's PCs, reported second-quarter results ahead of Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, fueling hopes of a recovery in the beaten-down PC sector.

"The better than expected results can be interpreted as a small sign of a PC market recovery in terms of shipment volumes in some regions," Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa said in a statement.

"When we finished the first quarter ..., there was some doubt about whether shipments had been based on inventory replenishment or whether this really was the bottom," IDC analyst Loren Loverde said.

"The growth was broad-based across regions. Essentially all regions did better than expected, so that's very positive."

Loverde said PC shipments could show growth by the fourth quarter, thanks to strength in notebook PCs.

"It's also good in the sense that there's additional potential as the commercial market recovers," he said.

Whether the consumer market remains the primary driver in coming quarters or corporate spending returns, could have significant impact on PC maker rankings, analysts said.

Dell, whose business is concentrated in the enterprise market, managed to hold on to its No. 2 ranking in the second quarter with a market share of 13.7 per cent, but suffered a massive 17.1 per cent year-on-year decline in shipments, according to IDC.

Many had speculated that Acer, which has ridden strong netbook sales, would overtake its U.S. rival. Analysts on Tuesday quizzed chief executive Michael Dell about the implications of such an upset.

Taiwanese upstart

Despite a dramatic 23.7 per cent year-on-year increase in shipments, Acer stayed in its No. 3 global spot with a 12.7 per cent market share.

But it has Dell in its sights. While the U.S. company saw market share slip 2.4 percentage points compared with a year ago, Acer expanded its slice of the market by 2.7 percentage points.

Acer "saw a significant gain in the U.S. market, likely benefiting from the troubles of Dell and Lenovo," IDC said in a statement.

Chief Executive Dell dismissed the concern on Tuesday, saying his company is more interested in profit share than market share, and that consumer-focused Acer's gains were in cheap PCs. Enterprise sales historically have higher margins than consumer sales.

Hewlett-Packard Co held onto the top spot among PC makers in the second quarter, showing year-on-year growth of 3.6 per cent in shipments, for a market share just shy of 20 per cent.

Lenovo Group Ltd and Toshiba Corp kept their positions as numbers four and five, respectively, both showing positive growth compared with a year ago. Lenovo, relying on its strength in the Chinese market, posted a 2.9 per cent growth in shipments from a year ago and Toshiba posted 10.5 per cent growth.

(Additional reporting by Gabriel Madway in Austin)