Worldwide PC shipments totaled 48.9 million units in the second quarter of 2005, a 14.8 percent increase from the same period last year, according to preliminary results by Gartner. The PC market exceeded Gartner’s previous projections by 2 percentage points. Demand for mobile form factors accelerated sales during the second quarter, stated Charles Smulders, VP of Gartner’s Computing Platforms Worldwide Group. Aggressive price cutting was also a significant factor in driving demand for desktop PCs.
Gartner found that Dell extended its lead in the worldwide market, accounting for 17.9 percent of global PC shipments. Dell experienced much higher growth rates outside of the United States, but it also grew ahead of the market rate in its domestic market, where the bulk of its shipments are made.
Hewlett-Packard’s PC shipments growth rate exceeded the worldwide average, as the company performed well in the EMEA and Asia/Pacific regions. The quarter was a transitional time for the company, as Mark Hurd was appointed the new CEO in April and The Personal System Group (PSG) was split from the Imaging and Printing Group after one quarter. In June, Tom Bradley was appointed as the new head of PSG.
In the EMEA region, PC shipments increased 18.6 percent in the second quarter. Aggressive PC pricing by vendors has resulted in strong shipment growth. Analysts at IDC found that worldwide PC shipments jumped to 16.6 percent growth in the second quarter. According to IDC low-cost systems and portable adoption continued to be key market drivers, stimulating consumer adoption as well as commercial replacements. EMEA was once again a source of tremendous growth.
In EMEA, growing competition in the consumer notebook market increased attention on low cost systems and fueled demand. Replacement and consumer activity, as well as investment related to European Union expansion and integration, helped boost overall EMEA growth above 20 percent after several quarters of growth in the high teens.
The top five vendors according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker were Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer and Fujitsu Siemens. IDC found that Dell expanded its lead with worldwide growth of nearly 24 percent. International shipment growth of nearly 23 percent helped HP stay ahead of the market with worldwide growth of 16.3 percent. HP saw strong demand in Europe, where it maintains the market lead, and in Asia/Pacific. IDC believes that Lenovo appears to be working through its merger issues fairly well. Worldwide growth of 7.7 percent for the combined companies was up from a merged 6.8 percent in the first quarter. Acer continues to be very successful throughout EMEA, driving growth of over 65 percent with low-cost portables and desktops through an extensive distribution channel. Fujitsu Siemens continues to develop its European focus. While shipments in Japan have been flat over the past year, European shipments have grown by over 20% and now account for over 60% of the company’s PC business.
