Lenovo Profits Rise 13-Fold

Hardware giant Lenovo has seen a 13-fold surge in quarterly profits thanks to shifting jobs to lower cost countries and dropping component costs. The Chinese PC maker reported a profit of $66.84m (£32.9m) in the fiscal first quarter ending in June, compared with $5.21m (£2.56m) last year and analysts'' forecasts of $32m (£15.8m)

''In the past two years, through the formulation of the right strategy and effective execution, Lenovo''s performance is showing signs of growth,'' said chairman Yang Yuanqing. ''Building upon a solid, healthy foundation, Lenovo has the ability to grow faster and tap the growth potential of the PC industry.''

China''s top PC manufacturer is world''s third largest supplier following the purchase of IBM''s PC hardware arm for $1.25bn (£615m) in 2005. But it has been saddled with expenses arising from lay-offs and streamlining as it seeks to compete with the likes of Acer and HP.