Personal computer maker Lenovo Group said it would miss a target to turnaround its mobile business by March, after earlier posting a quarterly loss due to a one-off charge linked to tax reforms in the United States.
The company, which lost the world's largest PC maker crown to HP in 2017, has seen its smartphone business suffer due to higher component prices and fierce competition.
The group's phone problems started after it bought Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.9 billion in 2014 but struggled to integrate the assets.
"We will further improve the profitability, but probably breakeven will not happen in the next quarter," chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing said, referring to the mobile business.
The segment, which accounts for 16 per cent of Lenovo's revenue, reported a narrower operating loss of $92 million for the third quarter ended December.
Lenovo will look at the segment's performance next quarter to decide whether there needs to be a write-off, chief financial officer Wai Ming Wong said on Thursday.
The company's core PC and smart device business, however, grew in terms of revenue in the third quarter.
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The segment, accounting for over 70 per cent of Lenovo's top line, saw an 8 percent rise in revenue over the period, despite a 0.2 percentage point year-on-year drop in market share, thanks to premium products such as datachables.
Lenovo's overall revenue for the October-December period came in at a three-year high of $12.94bn, up slightly from $12.17bn a year ago.
Its bottom line for the period, however, swung to a loss of $289m, versus a $98m profit a year ago, dented by the one-off charge of $400m linked to a reassessment of US deferred tax assets.
Lenovo reiterated that the short-term business outlook was challenging, but said in the longer term US corporate tax cuts would "positively impact" earnings of its operations.
Mr Yang said the company had not discussed shifting more business or personnel to the United States in response to changed tax incentives.
Tax reforms signed into law in December lower the income tax rate for US companies to 21 per cent from 35 per cent.
On Lenovo's data centre business, which saw a narrower loss of $56m on a 17 per cent year-on-year revenue increase in the quarter, Mr Yang said it was "well on track to deliver a turning around". He declined to give a timeframe.
Lenovo plans to open 1,000 new retail shops in China over three years to sell a wide range of products from the Lenovo ecosystem, Mr Yang said.
It will also launch more high-end PCs and smart devices such as its Mirage Solo virtual reality headset with Google's Daydream technology that recently debuted at the CES trade show.
Shares of Lenovo, a unit of Legend Holdings, dropped as much as 3 per cent in morning trade against a 0.44 per cent decline for the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
