(Yicai) Nov. 16 -- Shares in Lenovo Group tumbled as much as 4.8 percent today after the world’s biggest personal computer maker logged a 60 percent dive in net profit in the first half of this fiscal year from the same period last year amid a subdued PC market.

Lenovo’s share price [HKG:0992] closed down 2.6 percent at HKD9.52 (USD1.22) today. Earlier in the day the stock sank to HKD9.31.

Lenovo logged net profit of USD426 million in the six months ended Sept. 30, a far cry from the USD1.1 billion it secured a year ago, according to the Beijing-based company’s latest earnings report released today. Revenue tumbled 20 percent to USD27.3 billion.

The drop in revenue is due to the high base line last year, Lenovo said. There are already signs of an uptick in sales as revenue in the second quarter of the fiscal year surged 12 percent from the previous quarter, higher than the firm's average growth rate in the past decade.

Most of Lenovo’s revenue is generated by its Intelligent Devices Group, which manufactures PCs, tablets, smartphones as well as other smart gear. However, the group’s earnings tumbled 22 percent in the fiscal first half year on year to USD21.8 billion. This was the result of clearing up redundant PC inventories, Lenovo said.

Revenue from its Infrastructure Solutions Group also sank 17 percent over the period to USD3.9 billion due to the slowdown in spending on information technology. But its Solutions & Service Group became a major source of growth with revenue jumping 14 percent to USD3.6 billion.

With the uncertainty in global demand for technological hardware, Lenovo is putting more emphasis on other areas. For example, it is investing USD1 billion in artificial intelligence over the next three years to bring new growth opportunities to its Infrastructure Solutions Group and Solutions & Service Group, it said.

Lenovo will pay out an interim dividend of USD124.3 million, or HKD0.08 (USD0.01) per share, it said.

Editor: Kim Taylor