Top China PC maker Lenovo's Q2 plunges 78 percent

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Lenovo Group Ltd (0992.HK), the world' No. 4 PC maker, posted a 78 percent plunge in quarterly earnings on Friday on slower shipments and lower margins as the global financial crisis crimps appetite for technology products.

Corporate-focused Lenovo earned a net profit of $23.44 million in its fiscal quarter ended in September, compared with $105.26 million a year earlier.

The result severely lagged an average forecast for $91.80 million, according to five analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

Analysts say China's top computer maker, which competes with Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N), Dell Inc (DELL.O) and Asian rival Acer (2353.TW), is expected to thrive in the long run due to its commanding share of China's market -- the world's top PC arena after the United States -- and other emerging markets.

Shares in Lenovo plunged 36 percent between July and September, underperforming an 18.5 percent loss in Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI, as investor's fled equities in the wake of the financial turmoil.

(Reporting by Joseph Chaney; editing by Anne Marie Roantree)