TAIPEI: Notebook computer shipments by Asustek Computer Inc and Acer Inc fell sharply in the first quarter, as depreciation of the euro and emerging market currencies hurt demand, Taipei-based market adviser TrendForce Corp reported.
Volatility in the eurozone and emerging markets hit Asustek and Acer’s notebook sales because those markets are the major buyers of the companies’ devices, Trendforce said, citing data released on Thursday.
Asustek’s notebook shipments in the January-March period fell by 24 percent from the previous quarter, while Acer’s dropped by 12.8 percent sequentially, the data showed.
Asustek’s global market share fell to 10.4 percent in the first quarter from 11.3 percent in the fourth quarter last year, but it retained its rank as the world’s No. 4 notebook vendor, the figures showed.
Acer saw its global market share rise to 9.9 percent from 9.4 percent recorded in the fourth quarter last year, making it No. 5, the data showed.
China’s Lenovo Group Ltd passed US-based Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) as the largest notebook computer brand in the world in the first quarter, TrendForce said.
While Lenovo, affected by slow-season effects, registered a 7.7 percent sequential drop in shipments for the three-month period, HP saw a 28.5 percent sequential decline, TrendForce said.
Lenovo’s first-quarter global market share rose to 20.4 percent, from 18.3 percent a quarter earlier, beating HP’s 19.3 percent, which fell from 22.2 percent in the fourth quarter last year, the advisory firm said.
US-based Dell Corp remained the world’s No. 3 notebook brand in the first quarter with a global market share of 13 percent, up from 12.5 percent recorded in the prior quarter, the data showed.
However, as with other vendors, Dell’s shipments for the January-March period fell by 13.8 percent quarter-on-quarter.
Apple Inc, the US consumer electronics giant, had an 8.8 percent share of the global notebook computer market in the first quarter to rank as the world’s sixth-largest brand.
Its market share was down from a 10.5 percent share seen a quarter earlier after its shipments fell by 30.5 percent sequentially.
Worldwide notebook computer shipments in the first quarter fell 17.5 percent from a quarter earlier to 38.43 million units, TrendForce said.
