PC shipments up as corporate demand strengthens

Over 88 million desktops, notebooks and entry-level servers shipped in Q3, reports iSuppli

Worldwide shipments of desktops, notebooks and entry-level servers rose to 88 million in the third quarter, as the PC market recovered after a dismal 2009, according to market research firm iSuppli.

The figures indicate healthy growth of 10 per cent year on year. Shipments of desktop PCs rose sequentially by 11 per cent in the third quarter, triggered by growing corporate PC demand, the report noted.

HP experienced a minor 0.2 per cent decline in annual sales, but retained a leading market share of 18 per cent. Dell, Acer, Lenovo and AsusTek rounded out the top five.

Dell was unaffected by the slowdown in consumer sales, capitalising on the strength of the corporate PC market. The firm sold 11.3 million PCs in the quarter, up 7.2 per cent from the previous quarter.

"Since the second quarter, corporate demand for desktop PCs and entry-level servers has been strong, driven by companies' efforts to replace systems with newer, faster and more efficient computers," said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms research at iSuppli.

"Dell has a higher mix of corporate business than HP and Acer, and was therefore less exposed to the consumer slowdown."

Lenovo shipments rose 32.9 per cent in the quarter, propelled by growth in its domestic Chinese market.

The company has achieved year-over-year shipment growth in excess of 30 per cent during every quarter this year, iSuppli added.

Taiwanese manufacturer AsusTek moved into fifth position ahead of Toshiba, after shipments rose by 29 per cent.