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Lenovo Reports Strong Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012/13 Results Rapid PC Plus Transformation and Effective Cost Control Drive 90 Percent Profit Growth in Q4 Records in annual pre-tax income of US$801 million and earnings of US$635 million Record annual sales of US$34 billion Record 52.4 million PC shipments and record 15.5 percent global market share Full year basic EPS of 6.16 US cents, or 47.78 HK cents Net cash reserves of US$3.1 billion (as of March 31, 2013) HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lenovo Group today announced results for its fourth fiscal quarter and full-year ended March 31, 2013. With record full-year sales of US$34 billion, an increase of 15 percent year-over-year, a record full-year pre-tax income of US$801 million, up 38 percent year-over-year and record earnings of US$635 million, up 34 percent, Lenovo had a strong showing. While Lenovo continued to close in on the #1 position in PCs, with a record 15.5 percent market share for the full-year, it accelerated its transformation to become a top competitor in the PC Plus era, with a 5.9 percent share of Smart Connected Devices and global #3 ranking. Lenovo had record revenues for the fourth quarter of US$7.8 billion, four percent year-over-year growth. The Company achieved pre-tax income of US$166 million during the fourth fiscal quarter, a 63 percent increase over the same period last year. Compared to an overall industry decline of more than 13 percent year-over-year, Lenovo grew at a 14 point premium to the market, besting the industry for the 16th quarter in a row. The Company's gross profit for the fourth fiscal quarter grew to US$963 million, an increase of 20 percent year-over-year. Gross margin was 12.3 percent. Operating profit for the fourth quarter was US$169 million, up 67 percent year-over-year, while earnings jumped 90 percent year-over-year to US$127 million. Basic earnings per share in the fourth fiscal quarter are 1.22 US cents, or 9.46 HK cents. Lenovo's Board of Directors declared a final dividend of 1.81 US cents, or 14.0 HK cents per share for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. For the 2012/13 fiscal year, Lenovo's PC shipments grew 10.2 percent year-over-year, compared to an overall industry decline of 8.1 percent during this same period. Gross profit for the full year was US$4.1 billion, an increase of 18 percent year-over-year. Gross margin was 12 percent, while operating profit for the full fiscal year was US$ 800 million, a 37 percent jump over year-over-year. Lenovo's earnings grew 34 percent year-over-year to US$635 million. "Despite a challenging macro-economic environment and ongoing PC industry transformation, Lenovo delivered a strong performance in the 2012/13 fiscal year. Not only were we the fastest growing among all major PC players, with record market share, revenue and profitability, more importantly, our smartphone and tablet businesses saw dramatic growth," said Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo Chairman and CEO. "In fact, smartphone shipments were 3.7 times greater than last year globally and we are now number two in the China smartphone market. This has laid a solid foundation for the successful transformation of Lenovo into a PC Plus leader. Going forward, we will focus our investments on the fast-growing tablet, smartphone and enterprise hardware areas, while working to enhance the profitability of our core PC business. We are very confident in our ability to achieve success in these new areas, just as in the PC business." GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW Lenovo China achieved a 4.9 percent operating margin on US$3.1 billion in consolidated sales in the fourth fiscal quarter. This was an eight percent year-over-year or US$228 million increase of revenue, accounting for 40 percent of the Company's worldwide sales. Lenovo's PC Plus push was strongest in Ch

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Lenovo's just announced its Q4 and full year 2012/13 financial results, and its good news on all the indices for the Chinese computer maker. It took in $7.8 billion in revenue for the quarter and $34 billion for the full year, both records for the company, while earning $635 million for the full year -- another new high. The only sore spot for Q4 was Lenovo's laptop business, which dropped two percent over last year to $4.2 billion, but that's a far milder plummet than many PC makers saw. Otherwise, desktop PCs held flat for the company in difficult times, and the company held firm as China's number two smartphone manufacturer, seeing shipments grow at 206 percent year-over-year, double the average rate. It remains to be seen if Lenovo can continue to buck the downward PC trend that's continued unabated with the release of Windows 8 -- but if so, maybe we'll finally see some of its smartphones over here. Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Lenovo Comments Source: Business Wire

Chinese infrastructure projects in India stalled by red tape

An important article in the Latin American press peculiarly has not gotten the attention it deserves. Or perhaps not so peculiarly, given the Obama administration’s intention to keep the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations as far out of the public eye as possible. An overview of the TPP from a post earlier this month: ….the Administration is taking the unusual step of trying to negotiate two major trade deals in the same timeframe. Apparently Obama wants to make sure his corporate masters get as many goodies as possible before he leaves office. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the US-European Union “Free Trade” Agreement are both inaccurately depicted as being helpful to ordinary Americans by virtue of liberalizing trade. Instead, the have perilous little to do with trade. They are both intended to make the world more lucrative for major corporations by weakening regulations and by strengthening intellectual property laws. The TPP has an additional wrinkle of being an “everybody but China” deal, intended to strengthen ties among nations who will then be presumed allies of America in its efforts to contain China. As we indicated via a link to an Asia Times article over the weekend, that’s proving to be a bit fraught as Japan is flexing its muscles militarily and thus less inclined to follow US directives tamely. A not flattering bit of sunlight on the TPP negotiations comes from an unexpected source. Rodrigo Contreras, the lead negotiator on the TPP from Chile, resigned suddenly two months ago. It’s widely believed that he left his post voluntarily. He’s held in high esteem not just in Chile but among his fellow trade negotiators. His departure left people on the trade beat scratching their heads. It now appears probable that the reason for his resignation was that he saw where the TPP was likely to go and didn’t want his name attached to it. Contreras wrote an article in Spanish that ran last week Peru’s magazine Caretas that described the promise, and more important, the dangers of the TPP. He argued that many of its major thrusts, if they are not checked and modified, are detrimental to less advanced economies. He also argues that the Latin American countries have enough votes that if they act together, they can influence the direction of the negotiations. I’m including the Spanish original plus a translation courtesy Global Trade Watch at the end of this post. Here’s the key section: It is critical to reject the imposition of a model designed according to realities of high-income countries, which are very different from the other participating countries. Otherwise, this agreement will become a threat for our countries: it will restrict our development options in health and education, in biological and cultural diversity, and in the design of public policies and the transformation of our economies. It will also generate pressures from increasingly active social movements, who are not willing to grant a pass to governments that accept an outcome of the TPP negotiations that limits possibilities to increase the prosperity and well-being of our countries. For a former insider like Contreras, this is a statement of principle that comes at considerable personal cost. Remember, he has spent over two decades as a diplomat, most recently in a very senior role. Even though his comments might seem understated to some readers, his call to Latin American negotiators has deep-sixed his chances of getting another senior government role or being retained by large companies as a lobbyist or advisor. This article also might not be as quixotic as it sounds. Given Contreras’ reputation, his piece is certain to come to the attention of his former peers. Some of Asian participants in the negotiations (particularly Japan) are also believed to have serious reservations about the provisions of the TPP that would weaken national sovereignity by allowing corp

As the global PC market continues to spiral downwards, Lenovo, the world’s second-largest PC maker after HP, has reported solid earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter and full-year ended March 31, 2013. The Chinese multinational is in fact boasting that, “despite a challenging macro-economic environment and ongoing PC industry transformation”, it has reached a record 15.5 percent PC market share for the full year. All in all, it has shipped 52.4 million PCs during the year. That has translated in record annual sales of $34 billion for the fiscal year, and $635 million in income after taxes (up 34 percent year-over-year). It also reported an estimate-beating 90 percent rise in quarterly profit. Notably, the company says in a statement that it will “enhance the profitability” of its core PC business but look to smart devices (tablets and smartphones) and enterprise hardware for future growth. Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo Chairman and CEO, notes: “Not only were we the fastest growing among all major PC players, with record market share, revenue and profitability, more importantly, our smartphone and tablet businesses saw dramatic growth. In fact, smartphone shipments were 3.7 times greater than last year globally and we are now number two in the China smartphone market. This has laid a solid foundation for the successful transformation of Lenovo into a PC Plus leader.” Also read: As expected, Dell reports miserable $0.21 per share profit on revenue of $14.1B in Q1 Hewlett-Packard misses street on low PC sales with Q2 revenue of $27.6B and $0.87 EPS Image credit: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR for AFP / Getty Images

New Chinese MeituKiss phone upgrades selfie technology for women

In a market where consumers are on edge about what they are eating, there are going to be opportunities for firms with a brand supported by safe to enter the market.  In China, this market has recently been filled by the importation of products that were easily transportable, and an explosion in the organics market, but few Western firms had been able to penetrate into a wider market. Que up Chiquita, with their locally sourced, three times washed, chemical free, salad mixes…. which are sold at a very reasonable 17-22RMB (depending on store). They are hitting the market in a big way, and over the last couple of months I have begun to see their penetration into new stores and product groups expand… and I expect this will only continue as consumers continue to look for safe alternatives. One issue that they may face though.  the Chinese market is not a huge fan of raw and cold salads.  It is a market that has legs, but for me where things for Chiquita (and others) get interesting is when they are able to move into categories of food that are core to the Chinese diet.

Terry Wohlers fears U.S. losing its edge in additive manufacturing, from 3ders.org: Terry Wohlers, an industry consultant, analyst, and speaker, president of independent consulting firm Wohlers Associates, provided some impressive insights into the market of Additive Manufacturing during their preparation for the publication of Wohlers Report 2013. He revealed some interesting data: “16 companies in Europe, 7 in China, 5 in the U.S., and 2 in Japan now manufacture and sell professional-grade, industrial additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing systems. This is a dramatic change from a decade ago when the mix was 10 in the U.S., 7 in Europe, 7 in Japan, and 3 in China.” Last year, the Obama Administration announced the launch of the new National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) to be housed in renovated industrial space in Youngstown, aiming to help lead a renaissance in U.S. manufacturing. “This institute will help make sure that the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow take root not in places like China or India, but right here in the United States,” Obama said. Is the U.S. losing its edge in AM? This data on AM systems manufacturing and sales suggests that it is. Notes Wohlers: What’s more, all of the metal powder bed fusion systems are manufactured outside the U.S. Seven manufacturers of these systems are in Europe and two are in China. Together, China, Singapore, many countries in Europe, and even South Africa, have committed hundreds of millions of dollars in AM development and commercialization over the next few years. The U.S. continues to lead the world with the largest installed base of AM users. When Wohlers Report 2013 becomes available soon, it will report that 38% of all industrial AM installations are in the U.S. Japan is second with 9.7%, followed by Germany with 9.4% and China with 8.7%. With such a large number of systems, one could argue that the U.S. has the most experience, expertise, and know-how in AM. The NAMII was launched by the White House with the support of several agencies, including the Department of Defense. This initiative seeks to accelerate the position of the U.S. in the development and use of AM technology. It will not be easy, given what organizations in China and other regions of the world have planned. My recommendation to key leaders in the U.S. is to focus on the big picture with big goals, such as the development of metal-based powder bed fusion systems and other advanced AM system technology. Market forces and competitive pressures will take care of the smaller challenges and incremental technology improvements. Read more. Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers! Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D! The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!

A group of Chinese students are upset with American vice president Joe Biden, a man known for his verbal blunders, over remarks at the University of Pennsylvania's commencement ceremony on May 13. [ more › ]