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Fujitsu-Siemens denies integration rumour
Tuesday, October 08 2002
by Ciaran Buckley


Amidst media confusion, Fujitsu-Siemens will announce that it has developed a
common PC offering with Fujitsu, to complete the joint-venture's hardware range.







Previously the two companies sold a number products under their respective brands
with the same technical specifications, including a range of laptops, handheld
computers, computer peripherals, servers, storage devices and mainframe
computers. Until now, the two businesses did not sell a common PC. 



But story this week, carried in Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun, said that the two
companies planned to integrate their operations worldwide, a move which would
have made the combined company the fourth largest PC manufacturer in the world,
after Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Dell. 



However, a spokesperson for Fujitsu-Siemens told ElectricNews.Net that the two
business are simply planning to sell a new PC that, like many products in its
existing range, will have the same specifications under both the Fujitsu brand an
under the Fujitsu-Siemens brand. Full details about the computer will be unveiled
on October 09 at the company's October Festival exposition in Augsburg, Germany.




Fujitsu-Siemens was formed as a 50-50 joint venture in 1999 through the merger of
the European computer operations of global giants Fujitsu and Siemens. Most of
its sales are in Europe, with Germany alone accounting for about half of
revenues. The company employs more than 7,000 people in 25 countries across EMEA.
Fujitsu-Siemens employs 20 people in Ireland in a sales and marketing operation.



The joint venture has enjoyed profitability and increasing market share, even as
the European market for hardware has been contracting. The company finished its
second full financial year in May, with a pre-tax profit of EUR29 million. 



Fujitsu-Siemens Computers achieved its strongest growth in the laptop segment.
While the laptop market in EMEA grew by 14.9 percent overall, Fujitsu-Siemens
Computers recorded a growth of over 27 percent. In Western Europe the company
enjoyed growth of 22.5 percent, while total demand for laptops grew by only 13
percent. 



Fujitsu-Siemens Computers has also extended its market share in the desktop PC
market and is the number one supplier to the consumer desktop market in Western
Europe with a market share of 11.4 percent. The company is the number one
supplier of consumer PCs in Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the Nordics.
Fujitsu-Siemens Computers has also gained market share in the shrinking
Commercial Desktop segment with a market share of 10.2 percent.