Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (5055)	1/20/2003 8:22:56 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

2002 EMEA Personal Computer Shipments +1.9% Versus 2001 - IDC Monday January 20, 7:42 am ET Edited Press Release LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Personal computer shipments grew by 3.7% in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in the fourth quarter 2002 compared with the same quarter 2001, leading to a modest 1.9% for the full year 2002, according to data released Monday by IDC. Intense vendor competition and continued price declines across all product categories however clearly contributed to stimulate demand, adversely impacting growth in terms of revenue and industry margins. The market remained affected by slow demand overall and Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - News) price cuts in November along with aggressive vendor pricing strategies across all channels clearly helped stimulate both consumer and business purchases. Without this, the market would have fallen back to negative trends. The corporate market continued to display very slow investment patterns, with only a few and essential renewals taking place, and no major rebound is expected before the second half 2003. Adding to budget constraints, a "wait and see" stance among businesses on new products also contributed to still very slow corporate notebook sales. The SMB market remained more sustained but very much driven by fierce vendor competition and consequent price declines. On the consumer side, notebook sales remained buoyant, driven by low and very attractive pricing in the retail channel with fierce battle among vendors, however not making up for the lack of desktop demand and penalizing overall consumer market growth. In line with forecasts, notebooks continued to display double-digit growth at over 14% year-on-year and remained a key area of intense competition between vendors in both the consumer and SMB space. Mobile products will continue to represent the largest growth opportunity in EMEA as wireless developments and a rebound in corporate rollouts will drive stronger double-digit growth in 2003. But prices are expected to continue declining. "2003 will be another very challenging year for the PC industry. While companies will continue to adopt cost-saving strategies and maintain tight control over IT budgets, businesses have become more than ever price-sensitive. On the consumer side, prices will also remain a major volume generation and competitive weapon," said Karine Paoli, IDC's EMEA personal computing expertise center manager. "Further price declines in 2003, especially in the notebook space, will continue to affect margins and vendors will have no other choice than to keep costs down," she added. While Hewlett Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - News) and Dell Computer Corp. (NasdaqNM:DELL - News) continued to drive pressure on the market, the competitive landscape has intensified in the fourth quarter. With Acer Inc. taking the fourth position in the overall EMEA ranking, and the number two position in the notebook space, as well as the strong positions held by regional/local players across most countries clearly outline the fierce competitive environment which will continue to shape the PC market in 2003. In a context of slow demand where pricing will remain a key volume generation weapon, vendor competition is not expected to soften in 2003. HP maintained the gap and a clear leadership in EMEA, however declining by 11% compared with the combined shipments of HP and Compaq in the same period last year. Considering the scale of the merger and fierce competition from all sides, the leader's aggressive pricing strategy and a well executed transition enabled HP to maintain over 20% share in the EMEA market for 2002. Dell continued to outperform the market and record strong share gains across all form factors. Able to take advantage first of Intel price cuts in November, the direct vendor continued to maintain pressure on the market across the region with continued expansion into the SMB and consumer markets and share consolidation in the major European markets outside the U.K. Fujitsu-Siemens displayed another healthy quarter, holding well against competition in and outside Germany. Improved distribution channel strategy in the SMB market, good product and price positioning and continued focus in the mobile computing space contributed to the vendor's performance in the region. Acer recorded again the strongest performance in EMEA with over 27% growth, and took the fourth position in the overall ranking, outpacing IBM, and the number two position in the notebook space. Continuing to display an aggressive strategy in the notebook market (with notebooks representing more than 50% of the vendor's shipments), low pricing as well as an extended distribution network, Acer is consolidating its positions across Europe. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - News) recorded sustained performance overall considering the absence of the vendor from the consumer market, as well as the weakness of corporate demand. Although facing fierce competition in the SMB market, IBM continues to hold well thanks to increased competitiveness. Toshiba Corp. continues to hold well against competition in the notebook space, although growth was moderate at the European level. Outstanding performance in the U.K. where the vendor recorded over 37% growth clearly contributed to the vendor's sustained results in the region. Sony Corp. recorded strong performance at over 50% compared with last year. While facing intense competition in the consumer notebook space which led to a softer double-digit growth in this segment, continued success of its desktop product line assisted the vendor's overall performance. NEC CI displayed a soft performance overall, however maintaining strong positions in the consumer market thanks to attractive product and price positioning across both desktop and notebooks.