UPDATE 2-Fourth-quarter PC shipments up 17 pct - IDC
Wed Jan 18, 2006 08:38 PM ET
(Adds analyst comments, Apple PC shipment figures)
LOS ANGELES, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Worldwide personal computer shipments rose 17.1 percent to 61.1 million units in the fourth quarter of 2005, with North America slightly behind forecasts and international markets ahead, researcher IDC said on Wednesday.
Global growth exceeded IDC expectations of 15.1 percent but U.S. demand for desktop computers was relatively slow and growth was driven by portable sales, the company said.
"We don't want to be too optimistic," said Loren Loverde, an analyst with IDC. "Pretty much everybody is expecting some slowdown in growth."
Dell Inc. (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) led quarterly global shipments with 17.2 percent market share and U.S. shipments, with 32.9 percent share. Its global sales rose 20.1 percent.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was second in the worldwide and U.S. markets with 15.8 percent worldwide growth.
Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) saw renewed double-digit increases in unit sales, but IDC said there was a noticeable slowdown in growth, possibly because of Apple's switch to microprocessors from Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) .
Apple's U.S. unit shipments fell 16.8 percent in the fourth quarter to 613,407 from the third quarter, IDC said, and rose 13.2 percent from a year ago. Worldwide, they rose 0.9 percent to 1.25 million in the fourth quarter, and increased 18.4 percent from a year ago.
China's Lenovo Group Ltd. (0992.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) , which bought IBM's PC business, was the No. 3 worldwide seller with 7.2 percent of the market. Sales rose 12.6 percent, compared with combined IBM and Lenovo a year ago, but were behind the market average.
Acer Inc. (2353.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) was the No. 4 vendor, with sales up 52.5 percent, and Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens (6702.T: Quote, Profile, Research) (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) was fifth, with sales up 23.2 percent.
In the United States, Gateway Inc. (GTW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was the third-largest vendor, with sales up 15.5 percent, to take 6.8 percent of the market.
IDC's most recent forecast was for a 10.6 percent rise for PC shipments in 2006, Loverde said, adding that there could be some upside to that figure as the year plays out. |
