Lenovo Q2 profit jumps 88%

Lenovo Group (0992.HK), the world’s number two PC brand, announced that its second quarter profit jumped 88%, thanks to acquisitions and strong demand in emerging markets such as China, Reuters reported. Lenovo reported a profit of US$143.92 million for the second quarter, up from US$76.59 million year-on-year, and beating analysts estimates of US$118.3 million. In a seperate statement, Lenovo’s chairman Liu Chuanzi had resigned, and will be replaced by Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing, though without a major change in strategy. The Chinese PC giant bought Germany’s Medion AG (MDN.GR) for US$900 million in June. Analysts expressed concern for continued industry growth on a shortage of hard disk drives due to severe floods in Thailand, the world’s second-largest supplier, and weak demand in developed markets. Acer (2353.TT) said it will raise disk drive prices while Asustek Computer (2357.TT) held a conservative outlook on the fourth quarter sales.