United States computer maker Hewlett-Packard (HP) on Thursday reveled in news that it had extended its lead as the world’s top personal computer vendor late last year, pressuring arch-rival Dell.
HP ended 2006 with yearly sales growth of 24% and took “a clear lead in worldwide shipment volume” in the last three months of the year, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.
Dell, meanwhile, did not recover from a slow third quarter and “stumbled through the end of the year” with international growth dropping to 1,5%, IDC said.
HP basked in its sales triumph in a difficult year marked by a boardroom spying scandal and a soft US commercial market. “We are particularly pleased with the momentum HP experienced this holiday season,” said HP vice-president Todd Bradley. “Our market-leading growth is further evidence of the sound, well-executed business strategy we’ve put in place.”
The rivals ended the year in a virtual tie in 2006 worldwide computer shipments. Dell narrowly held on to the number-one position, with 17,1% of the market, compared with HP’s 17% share, according to IDC.
Overall PC shipments in 2006 reached 228,6-million, 10% higher than the previous year.
In the final quarter last year, 65,6-million PCs were shipped worldwide, with markets in Europe, Asia, Canada and Latin America expanding “at a healthy clip”, IDC reported.
Sluggish sales of business computers hampered the US and Japanese markets at the end of 2006, but demand for home computers and laptops remained strong everywhere, IDC said.
The US “slogged through another slow quarter”, IDC said, and Japan saw computer shipments drop by 10% due to the pending release this month of the home version of Microsoft’s Vista operating system and buyers spending their money on flat-panel television sets.
“It was a very challenging quarter,” said PC Tracker director Loren Loverde. “HP clearly was able to capitalise on the situation. But it also reflects underlying pricing and segment trends that were tough on competitors such as Dell, Lenovo, Gateway and Fujitsu-Siemens.”
HP’s marketplace success came as it was battered by scandal stemming from dishonest tactics used to uncover the identity of a board member who leaked supposedly confidential company business to news reporters.
A private detective pleaded guilty last week to obtaining illegally a news reporter’s telephone records as part of a company-sanctioned hunt for a boardroom leak.
The espionage scandal that broke last year resulted in criminal charges against two fallen HP executives and three outside security agents it had contracted.
Last month, California-based HP agreed to pay $14,5-million to settle civil charges linked to boardroom espionage, according to state officials.
HP’s stock price has climbed during the scandal.
Companies such as HP, Acer, Toshiba and Apple benefited from strong retail and consumer sales, a trend toward portable computers, and aggressive pricing, PC Tracker’s Loverde said.
China and India are expected to be “key drivers” in a thriving Asia market for computers. — AFP