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PC shipments slide through June

But Dell calls the bottom

Sales of PCs through distributors are flat year on year, and saw their biggest drop in June.

Figures from channel research firm Context showed overall sales in seven European countries grew by two per cent for the quarter, but the figures showed a massive drop in June. Sales of PCs, laptops and servers were down 11.5 per cent compared to June last year and 13.6 per cent down on May.

Although business sales have been falling for some time now, the slump is hitting consumer purchases. June saw the first fall in consumer laptop sales - down 5.1 per cent. Sales of netbooks, which have also bolstered the market, are also slowing.

Jeremy Davies, CEO of Context, said: "June sales are disappointing and the worst for quite a while... Today, consumer-oriented product sales are slowing faster than business products, with consumer notebook PC sales worst affected. In fact, for the first time, June saw the notebook PC sales growth rate go into decline with units down 5.1 per cent."

Netbook sales have been falling since their peak in March 2009, with June sales down 24 per cent from that high.

Top five vendors in the second quarter were HP with 39.9 per cent market share, Acer with 21 per cent, Toshiba at 9 per cent, Asus at 7.5 per cent and Fujitsu Technology Solutions with 3.6 per cent. Fastest growing vendor was Samsung, with 162 per cent growth pushed mainly by its netbook range.

Context gets weekly sales data from leading distributors including Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Westcoast and Diode.

But it's not all doom and gloom - Dell, which of course sells direct to consumers, reckons we've hit the bottom. Chief financial officer Brian Gladden said yesterday that the firm was seeing demand stabilising, and it expects a "slight sequential revenue increase" when it reports its second quarter ending July 31.

Speaking ahead of an analysts meeting, Gladden said the firm expected a slight decline in margins because of higher component costs and a competitive market. He added that while demand had stabilised, it varied a lot by geography and by customer segment. The full statement is here. ®

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