Global PC shipments at 93.5 mn units in Q4 2010

MUMBAI, INDIA: Worldwide PC shipments totaled 93.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010, a 3.1 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2009, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. These figures were below Gartner’s earlier forecast of 4.8 per cent growth for the fourth quarter of 2010.

“Overall, holiday PC sales were weak in many key regions due to the intensifying competition in consumer spending. Media tablets, such as the iPad, as well as other consumer electronic (CE) devices, such as game consoles, all competed against PCs,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.

“The bright side of the PC market during the fourth quarter of 2010 was a steady growth in the professional market driven by replacement purchases. For all 2010, the results indicate the PC market recovered from the recession, as it returned to double-digit growth, compared to low single-digit growth in 2009. However, the PC market will face challenges going forward with more intensified competition among consumer spending,” he added.

HP maintained the No. 1 position in worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010, but its shipment growth was below the worldwide average. The preliminary results showed that HP’s professional business had solid growth, but it was offset by a weak consumer PC business in the U.S. However, HP did well in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa professional and consumer markets. Asia/Pacific continued to be a challenging region for HP, the report said.

Acer faced challenges in the fourth quarter of 2010 due to a slowdown in the overall consumer mobile PC market. The company was impacted by a weakening mini-notebook segment. Due to a lower presence in the professional PC market, Acer could not benefit from the professional PC refresh demand.

Dell benefitted from professional PC refreshes across key regions. Dell’s shipment growth was better than regional averages across most regions. Dell’s weaker presence in the consumer segment meant the company was not affected as much as some other vendors due to disappointing holiday sales.

Lenovo marked the strongest year-on-year growth among the top 5 vendors. Lenovo’s strength was derived from the replacement purchases in the professional PC market, as well as its on-going efforts of getting into the consumer market, the report said.

In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 19.1 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010, a 6.6 per cent decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. This is better than Gartner’s earlier projection of a 10 per cent decline for U.S. PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010.

“U.S. holiday sales were not fantastic for most PC vendors, but the professional market did show healthy growth during the quarter,” Kitagawa said. “Media tablets undoubtedly intensified the competition in the consumer market.”

HP continued to lead the U.S. PC market, accounting for 29.3 per cent of PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010. Toshiba and Apple were the only vendors in the top 5 to increase shipments, as Toshiba’s shipments grew 14.4 per cent, while Apple’s shipments increased 23.7 per cent, the report stated.

PC shipments in EMEA totaled 32 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, a 6.2 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2009. The consumer market in Western Europe remained weak throughout the quarter. In a weak economic environment, already restrained consumer wallets shifted away from PCs to other consumer electronic devices including media tablets, gaming machines and e-readers.

In Asia/Pacific, PC shipments reached 27.9 million units, a 4.1 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2009. Fourth quarter PC shipments were primarily affected by the decrease of shipments into the consumer market. The PC market in Latin America grew 15 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010 as shipments totaled 8.9 million units.

In Japan PC shipments grew 3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010, as shipments reached 3.8 million units.

For the year, worldwide PC shipments totaled 350.9 million units in 2010, a 13.8 per cent increase from 2009. This growth rate was an improvement from 2009 when PC shipments increased 5.5 per cent, the report further added.