PC shipments shoot up in Q2

SAN FRANCISCO: Worldwide shipments of personal computers rose strongly in the second quarter, paced by corporations replacing aging PCs, strong demand in Europe and aggressive promotions,said market research firms Gartner Inc. and IDC.

Global shipments of PCs rose 15.5 percent in the second quarter to 39.7 million units from a year ago, according to IDC, making it the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Gartner said that worldwide PC shipments climbed 13.3 percent to 42.8 million units.

Because the two firms use different methodologies to track the PC industry, their results are slightly different.

"Despite warnings from some sectors of the information technology industry, the recovery seems to be holding steady for now," said Roger Kay, vice president of client computing and an analyst at IDC. "Consumers remain excited by digital media, and commercial organizations are in the full flood of PC replacement.'

In recent weeks, investors have been jarred by shortfalls reported by some 20 software companies and by Intel Corp.'s comments earlier this week that inventories rose 15 percent in its just-reported second quarter from the first quarter.

At the same time, Intel Chief Financial Officer, Andy Bryant said that he expects "a pretty typical second half of the year," referring to global corporate technology spending. Typically, the second half of the year is stronger for both PC sales and for spending on information technology.

"These are better-than-expected results and given some of the caution in the market it's a good validation of recovery and we think that bodes well for the rest of the year," said Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group said that replacement PC purchases fueled growth in the second quarter, noting that "the professional PC market was on track."

Dell Inc. retained its position as the largest PC maker in the United States and worldwide, both Gartner and IDC said. Dell's unit shipments climbed 22.5 percent to 7.26 million in the second quarter, according to IDC's figures. Dell now holds 18.3 percent of the market, up from 17.2 percent a year ago.

Hewlett-Packard Co. also increased its shipments, and remained in the No. 2 position, after Dell. HP's PC shipments rose 15.4 percent to 6.23 million, IDC said. HP's market share was flat at 15.7 percent.

PC shipments for International Business Machines Corp. rose 17.5 percent to 2.57 million units in the second quarter, making it the No. 3 worldwide PC maker, with 6.5 percent of the world PC market.

Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens was No. 4, as it saw PC shipments climb 19.3 percent to 1.52 million units in the second quarter, giving it a market share of 3.8 percent. Acer rounded out the top five with shipments of 1.27 million, an increase of 30.7 percent from a year ago, and market share of 3.2 percent.