PC maker Lenovo Group announced a $96.7 million quarterly loss Thursday as sales dropped in the global economic turmoil and said CEO William J. Amelio resigned in a management reshuffle.
Amelio will be succeeded as chief executive by Chairman Yang Yuanqing, Beijing-based Lenovo announced.
Yang said the company, the world’s fourth-largest PC manufacturer, will try to increase its dominance in its home market but denied that Amelio’s departure means it is pulling back from ambitions to compete globally.
“I still want this company to be a global company. Absolutely we will focus not only on China but on global business,” Yang said in a conference call with reporters.
Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi will return as chairman, succeeding Yang.
Sales fell 20 percent in the three months ending Dec. 31 from the same period of 2007. Shipments in China fell 7 percent.
Amelio said the company was hurt by slower Chinese sales growth and reliance on corporate customers, who have cut spending during the economic downturn.
“The fact that these markets, which are our sweet spots, have been hit hardest by the global economic conditions means that our financial performance has been impacted more profoundly than others in the industry,” Amelio said on the conference call.
Lenovo warned in January that it expected a quarterly loss due to a restructuring that would cut 11 percent of its work force, or about 2,500 jobs. The overhaul was launched after profits plunged in the previous quarter.
Chief Financial Officer Wong Wai Ming said the company expects to record a $120 million restructuring charge, probably in the current quarter.
Wong said the PC market will “remain challenging” and he declined to say when Lenovo might return to profitability. However, he said, “I can assure you the management is very confident that the next fiscal year will be better than the current fiscal year.”
Analysts have…