Apple's China revenues surpass Lenovo

TAIPEI: Apple's second quarter revenue in greater China -- an area including Taiwan and Hong Kong -- have surpassed that of Chinese computer giant Lenovo for the first time, according to figures from the firms.

Apple reported last month that revenue and profit rocketed to record highs as sales of its iconic iPhones and iPads more than doubled.

Its revenue in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong reached $3.8 billion, six times that seen in the same quarter last year, making the area a key driver behind the company's record financial results.

Lenovo announced this week that its consolidated sales in China in the quarter totalled $2.8 billion, accounting for 47.9 percent of its worldwide sales.

The company said it became the world's third largest PC vendor in shipments with record market share of 12.2 percent.

The data were not directly comparable since Lenovo did not include Taiwan and Hong Kong in its calculations.

Grand Cathay Securities analyst Mars Hsu noted that a direct comparison in sales was difficult because Apple's main drive are iPhones and iPads while is dependent on notebooks, but added that the figures reflect a general trend.

"Since tablets have eaten into notebook computers' market, there is a big room for growth for Apple's share in China while Lenovo faces tough growing challenges to maintain growth even though it has launched its own tablets," said Hsu.

Lenovo in March launched its own tablet computer at home as it aimed to compete for a share of an increasingly crowded market dominated by Apple's iPad.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011