Restructuring will be a common theme this year and Lenovo is making an early strike. This marks at least the third restructuring for the Chinese personal computer maker, which acquired IBM’s PC arm in 2005. Lenovo paid generously for its landmark acquisition and is now at the mercy of faltering top-line growth and squeezed profit margins. In the second quarter, to the end of September, net profits fell by four-fifths on the year before. Lenovo’s shares are down by two-thirds in the past 12 months.

The PC maker is cutting staff and reshuffling management, according to local press reports. Lenovo never really delivered on the supposedly potent cocktail of a world-renowned brand (IBM) and cheap cost base – not least because you do not need to be Chinese to make computers there. Indeed, Lenovo fares poorly among its peer group. Credit Suisse estimates this year’s operating profit margins will clock in at 1.7 per cent compared with 2.5 per cent for Taiwan’s Acer and 5.8 per cent for Dell.