Lenovo's PC shipments falling faster than market; Posts annual loss

Lenovo's fiscal 2009 ended with a thud as the company's PC shipments fell faster than the industry's decline overall. The company has been rattled by a slowdown in enterprise demand and "under-representation in consumer markets."

To wit:

• Lenovo's fourth quarter PC shipments fell 8.2 percent from a year ago. Industry PC shipments fell 7 percent. 
• Fourth quarter sales fell 25.8 percent to $2.8 billion. Lenovo also lost $264 million in the quarter. 
• The company is restructuring to save $300 million in 2009/2010.
• Lenovo remains a notebook story. Laptops represent 60 percent of Lenovo's total sales. 
• For fiscal 2009, Lenovo said sales fell 8.9 percent to $14.9 billion with PC shipments growing 2.2 percent. The company lost $226 million for the year.  

Nevertheless, Lenovo Chairman Liu Chuanzhi said in a statement that the company has "the right pieces in place" to rebound when the economy improves. The game plan from CEO Yang Yuanqing: Defend Lenovo's position in China, make the enterprise business profitable and target the consumer and small business markets to boost growth.