China PC firm aiming for top spot

Lenovo wants to overtake Dell or Hewlett-Packard

Lenovo, the Chinese firm which completed its purchase of IBM's PC business this month, has told staff it plans to double profits in three years.

Lenovo, now the world's third-biggest PC firm, wants to oust one of the top two, Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Lenovo bought IBM's PC unit for $1.8bn (£931m) and may buy other foreign firms to counter competition in its own market from Dell, HP and Chinese firms.

Lenovo's chief Stephen Ward unveiled the plans in a letter to staff.

Huge market

Mr Ward was formerly general manager of IBM's personal systems unit.

In February, Lenovo posted a profit of HK$327m (£223m) for the three months to end-December, not much higher than the HK$325m of the same period a year earlier.

The PC market in China is now the second-largest in the world and is set to grow at a rate of 13% this year.

However, some analysts were sceptical about how easy it would be for Lenovo to double profits.

Marvin Lo, a BNP Paribas analyst, said it could be done if warranty costs were kept under control and margins at the IBM business were raised.

He was less sure that the company could overtake Dell or HP.