Lenovo swings to forecast-beating first-quarter profit; PC revenue jumps

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group swung to a profit and beat estimates in the first quarter on Thursday, helped by a sharp jump in revenue.

Net profit came in at $77 million for the three months ended in June, compared with a loss of $72.3 million in the same period a year earlier when it was hit by higher costs amid a shortage of components.

That was ahead of an average estimate of $59.37 million from six analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 19 percent from a year earlier to $11.91 billion, its second straight quarter of double-digit revenue growth.

"The group remains confident in its core PC business, and aims to grow at a premium to the market in revenue without compromising on profitability," Chairman Yang Yuanqing said in the statement.

Lenovo's shares gained 3.4 percent in early trade on Thursday.

(Reporting by Sijia Jiang and Donny Kwok; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)