Lenovo Group, the world's fourth-largest personal computer maker, today reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss due to falling demand for its computers, AP reported. The Beijing-based company reported a loss of $264 million, or $2.98 per share, for the quarter that ended March 31. This compares with a profit of $140 million, or $1.44 per share, last year. Revenue fell 26 percent to $2.77 billion from $3.73 billion. The company said PC shipments fell 8.2 percent year over year; in the same period, overall shipments of PCs fell 7 percent across the industry. Gross margins declined to 10.3 percent from 15 percent. The company was also hurt by a $116 million restructuring charge and $71 million one-time charge that relate to a previously announced restructuring plan it started during the quarter. Lenovo expects the plan to save it $300 million during the current fiscal year. In a statement, Lenovo Chairman Liu Chuanzhi said that the third and fourth quarters were a «particularly challenging time» for the PC industry. For the full year, Lenovo's loss totaled $226 million, or $2.56 per share, on $14.9 billion in revenue.
