Businessweek

The board of directors of Lenovo Group Limited announced that Mr. William Otto Grabe has been appointed by the board as the lead independent director of the company, effective from May 23, 2013. The Lead Independent Director is not an executive position in the company. Subsequent to this appointment, Mr. Grabe will continue to serve as an independent non-executive director, the chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of Nomination and Governance Committee of the company. As the Lead Independent Director, Mr. Grabe will have the following roles: (1) to chair the Nomination and Governance Committee meeting and/or the Board meeting when considering (a) the combined roles of chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the company; (b)assessment of the performance of Chairman and/or CEO; (2) to call and chair meetings with all non-executive directors at least once a year on such matters as are deemed appropriate and provide feedbacks to Chairman and/or CEO; (3) to serve a key role in the Board evaluation process; (4) responds directly to shareholders and other stakeholder questions and comments that are directed to the Lead Independent Director or to the independent non-executive directors as a group, when appropriate; (5) if requested by major shareholders, ensures that he is available, when appropriate, for consultation and direct communication; and (6) to perform other duties as directors may designate. The company also announced that Mr. William Tudor Brown, an independent non-executive director of the company, has been appointed as a member of the Compensation Committee of the company. He had responsibility for developing high-level relationships with industry partners and governmental agencies and for regional development.

The Board of Lenovo Group Limited recommended the payment of a final dividend of 14.0 cents per ordinary share for the year ended March 31, 2013. Subject to shareholders' approval at the forthcoming annual general meeting, the proposed final dividend will be payable on July 26, 2013 to the shareholders whose names appear on the register of members of ordinary shares of the company on July 22, 2013.

Lenovo Group Ltd. announced audited consolidated earnings results for the fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2013. For the quarter, the company’s sales were $7,832 million compared to $7,496 million for the same period in 2012. Operating profit was $169 million compared to $102 million for the same period in 2012. Pre-tax income was $166 million compared to $102 million for the same period in 2012. Profit attributable to equity holders of $127 million or 1.20 cents per diluted share compared to $67 million or 0.63 cents per diluted share for the same period in 2012. For the year, the company’s revenue was $33,873,401,000 against $29,574,438,000 a year ago. Operating profit was $800,005,000 against $584,085,000 a year ago. Profit before taxation was $801,299,000 against $582,443,000 a year ago. Profit attributable to equity holders was $635,148,000 or 6.07 cents per diluted share against $472,992,000 or 4.57 cents per diluted share a year ago. Net cash generated from operating activities was $19,530,000 against $1,939,956,000 a year ago. Purchase of property, plant and equipment was $106,331,000 against $101,238,000 a year ago. Payment for intangible assets was $57,978,000 against $22,354,000 a year ago. The Group incurred capital expenditure of $441 million, against $329 million in 2012, during the year ended March 31, 2013, mainly for the acquisition of office equipment, completion of construction-in-progress and investments in the Group's information technology systems.

Lenovo Group Limited launched its highly-anticipated, new smartphone, the K900, at a gala event in the Chinese capitol on May 16, 2013 evening. The Lenovo K900 goes on sale in China this week, and will roll out to additional international markets throughout the summer. The unibody design of the K900 makes a bold statement for Lenovo. The sleek-cut, stainless steel frame exudes power and strength, while the unibody chassis maintains a low profile at 6.9mm, ensuring a smooth, elegant look and feel. The attention to detail and focus on design for Lenovo's latest smartphone makes the K900 an excellent choice for top-end smartphone buyers, while Lenovo's expanding distribution for smartphones ensures the K900 will compete head-to-head with many of the top smartphones in the market. Lenovo K900 is the first smartphone to leverage the latest Intel(R) Atom(TM) Z2580 processor, a dual core chip, which runs up to 2.0 GHz and utilizes Intel(R) Hyper-Threading technology to boost performance efficiency. The Intel-powered device also features an Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator engine running a PowerVR SGX 544MP2 GPU, which triples graphics performance over the previous generation.(1) This makes the Lenovo K900 very responsive, especially for key functions such as web-browsing, multi-tasking and application-switching. The Lenovo K900 resets the bar on these aspects. At 6.9mm, the K900 is the thinnest phone in its class by a wide margin and weighs in at a mere 162g, making it a device that unobtrusively slips into a jacket pocket or handbag. Made from a composite of stainless steel alloy and polycarbonate in a Unibody mold, the K900 manages to stay strong and look sharp while maintaining its slim profile. The K900 is to combine a 5.5" IPS display with 1080p full high-definition resolution performance at 400+ pixels-per-inch, all under the latest, touch-capacitive Gorilla Glass 2. This gives the K900 supreme clarity and crispness along with plenty of space to capture the nuances of high-definition photos and video, as well as for viewing standard-size web pages. The K900 smartphone is now available in China and will hit select international markets this summer. Retail price for the K900 in China will start at RMB 3,299.

Lenovo Group Limited, Q4 2013 Earnings Call, May 23, 2013