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 : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: William Hunt who wrote (25022)	4/27/1998 11:59:00 AM
From: Eddie Kim	Respond to of 97611

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Personal computer sales in western Europe jumped 21.1 percent in the first quarter of 1998 as prices plunged, British technology research company CONTEXT said on Monday. COMPAQ Computer Corp (NYSE:CPQ) of the United States strengthened its position as market leader, adding nearly a percentage point for its 14.8 percent market share, CONTEXT said. Of the big three markets, Britain and France outperformed the trend with growth rates of 30.2 percent and 24.5 percent compared with the same quarter of 1997. Germany, Europe's biggest market for personal computers, lagged with relatively sluggish growth of 10.9 percent. German sales were held back by a languid consumer sector with the public reluctant to buy new technologies and expensive upgrades, CONTEXT said. Overall sales for the quarter in western Europe totalled 5.57 million. Prices were under pressure. "CONTEXT has calculated that, in one year, desktop prices have, on average, gone down 18 percent in the UK and 22 percent in Germany. Over the same period, portable prices have decreased 14 percent in the UK and 16 percent in France," it said in a statement. "PC server prices have decreased 35 percent in France, 36 percent in Germany and 17 percent in the UK," CONTEXT said. Demand was not spread evenly, with weak retail sales, especially in Britain and France, CONTEXT said. Demand was led by the small- to medium-sized business sector. Emmanuel Lalloz, senior personal computer research analyst at CONTEXT, said the biggest manufacturers were continuing togain sales at the expense of smaller companies."The top five vendors -- COMPAQ, IBM, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and SNI (Siemens Nixdorf) -- grew 35.4 percent year over year, which is almost twice the market average growth. Their consolidated share increased from 39.4 percent in Q1 1997 to 44.1 percent in Q1 this year," Lalloz told Reuters. IBM's (NYSE:IBM) second place accounted for 8.3 percent of the market, followed by Dell's (NASDAQ:DELL) 7.8 percent, Hewlett-Packard's (NYSE:HWP) 7.6 percent and Siemens' (FSE:SIEG) 5.6 percent. Last week, Siemens of Germany, after years of struggling to wring profit out of its computer unit, turned over most of its personal computer business to Taiwan's Acer Inc (TW:2306). Acer will take over PC development and production from Siemens, Europe's leading PC supplier, make a Siemens' plant its main European production site and supply computers that the German company will distribute under its own name. Acer had 2.3 percent of the western Europe market in the first quarter. Japan's Fujitsu Ltd (TOKYO:6702) was the star performer in the quarter, according to CONTEXT, almost doubling sales to 307,700 and jumping to a market share of 5.5 percent, just behind Siemens. "Fujitsu had a very good performance in the UK, France and Germany thanks to both a rationalisation of its operations throughout Europe and on-going aggressive marketing of entry-level products," Lalloz said. Struggling Apple Computer Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its best result for a long time, raising sales 18.8 percent, thanks to its G3 desktop and portable products, CONTEXT said. Apple was in ninth place with 159,500 sales, equivalent to a 2.9 percent market share. Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service