GREAT NEWS.....Dell Computer Is 'Quite Pleased' With Second
Quarter Sales, Executive Says
By Biddy Chan
Hong Kong, May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Dell Computer Corp., the
world's biggest direct-seller of personal computers, is ''quite
pleased'' with its sales so far in its second quarter ending July
31, said a top executive in an interview.
The company recently reported its second straight quarter of
slowing sales growth. Sales for the fiscal first quarter ended
April 30 rose 41 percent, less than the year-ago quarter's
increase of 51 percent and slower than the average 54 percent
growth Dell had in the previous eight quarters.
So far in the second quarter, ''we are all quite pleased,''
said Chief Financial Officer Thomas Meredith. He declined to
provide specific figures.
Dell expects to increase sales in Asia, particularly China,
the fastest-growing computer market in the region, he said.
In August, the company opened PC production facilities in
the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen. Dell now ranks 10th in
China by market share.
Sales from Dell's China operation more than doubled quarter-
on-quarter in the three months to March, after more than tripling
in the last quarter of 1998.
''Our Chinese operation is actually the fastest-growing
affiliate in the company's history,'' Meredith said. ''We are
increasing our investment in China, and I would expect that to
continue for the foreseeable future.''
Sales in China, Japan and the rest of the Asia-Pacific
region, which accounted for 7 percent of the company's sales in
the quarter to April, will rise to at least one-third of the
total ''over the course of the next several years,'' he said. |
