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Technology Stocks : Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PCSS who wrote (1970)	10/17/2002 10:47:48 AM
From: Night Writer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4345

Europe, Middle East, Africa PC shipments up-study (adds details, recasts throughout) LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Personal computer shipments for Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose by seven percent in the third quarter, reversing a five-quarter decline, market research firm Gartner Dataquest said on Thursday. The increase was led by strong PC demand from consumers and small businesses in Western Europe, particularly Germany, the study said. But Gartner cautioned that the improvement does not signal a recovery. "This is a structural (improvement). The market is really bouncing along the bottom," said Gartner analyst Brian Gammage. He added that the figures are an improvement on the third quarter of 2001, "the worst-ever period for the PC industry." Parroting some of the pessimistic forecasts that have come out this week from computer-chip giant Intel Corp. <INTC.O> and Apple Computer Inc. <AAPL.O>, Gammage said a full-blown recovery is not at hand. He predicted sustained growth in PC shipments will not take hold until the second-half of 2003. In the meantime, discounting, particularly with laptop computers, will continue, he said, with a further squeeze on manufacturers' margins. Shares in computer and chip makers have been battered over the past year as global demand for computing products and software have sunk. Retailers have instituted a series of discounts on hardware to move units, eating into profits. In total, regional PC shipments topped 9.5 million units in the quarter, up from 8.9 million in the year-earlier period. PC makers Dell Computer <DELL.O> and Acer <2353.TW> notched the highest growth rates, increasing shipments by 10.6 percent and 22.4 percent, respectively. International Business Machines Corp. <IBM.N> registered a 3.5 percent decline, Gartner reported. Hewlett-Packard <HPQ.N>, which is still working through its merger integration with Compaq in Germany and France, saw shipments rise by 1.7 percent in the period, keeping a firm hold as the region's top PC seller. Gammage said the Eastern European market continues to grow at an impressive, double-digit pace, led by Russia. Political instability in the Middle East and Africa is blamed for a quarterly decline there, he added. ((European Equities Desk tel +44 20 7542 2490, fax +44 20 7542 7634, email Bernhard.Warner@Reuters.com)) REUTERS * end of story *