Lenovo profit rises by 29 percent thanks to surging smartphone sales

Hong Kong: Computer maker Lenovo says annual profit rose 29 percent as surging smartphone sales in China and elsewhere made up for a lackluster personal computer business. The company on Wednesday reported profit for the year ended March 31 of $817 million or 7.88 cents a share. Revenue grew 14 percent to $38.7 billion. Lenovo said the number of smartphones it shipped during the year jumped 72 percent to 50 million units. Strong demand in China, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe helped drive growth. Lenovo has been expanding aggressively into mobile technology as the traditional PC market cools and consumers increasingly go online using phones and tablets. The company bought Google's Motorola Mobility smartphone business for $2.9 billion in January. Associated Press