HONG KONG: China’s Lenovo Group posted a 6.8% rise in fourth-quarter revenue, its slowest growth in seven quarters, as people shopped for fewer of its personal computers after months of strong pandemic demand.

Revenue rose to $16.69 billion in the quarter ended March 31 from $15.63 billion a year earlier, below an average analyst estimate of $17.36 billion drawn from 9 analysts, according to Refinitiv.

But net income attributable to shareholders for the world’s biggest maker of personal computers rose to $412 million, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

A bellwether for the global PC market, the Beijing-based company led the market with a 23.1% share in the January-March period, according to data from research firm Counterpoint.

A rush to buy PCs during the pandemic culminated in record sales and profit for Lenovo in the December quarter. But sales have begun to lose steam as China, the company’s biggest market, has been hit by the Omicron variant, prompting many cities to impose lockdowns and shut factories.

Lenovo also reported the annual result for its fiscal year ending March where it saw revenue rise 18% to $71.6 billion and profit jump 72% to $2 billion, both of which are its highest since it became publicly traded in 1994.

This comes after Lenovo reported record profit and revenue for its last quarter in February, where its profit surged 62% on the back of rising demand.

Lenovo’s hot streak however, boosted by the pandemic-fuelled buying of laptops and other personal gadgets, is expected to cool this year as demand for PCs slows and market share gain becomes limited.

Counterpoint reported in April that global PC shipments fell 4.3% in the first quarter of 2022, as the war in Ukraine and China’s lockdowns pressured already fragile supply chains and added to shortages of components.