HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Lenovo Group Ltd said on Thursday (Feb 21) it swung back to a net profit in the December quarter, beating market expectations, due to a strong performance across its major business groups.

Profit for the quarter was US$233 million, versus a loss of US$289 million in the same period a year earlier when the world's largest personal computer (PC) maker by shipments took a one-off hit following US tax reform.

The result was ahead of the US$207 million average of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv.

Revenue rose 8.5 per cent to US$14.04 billion on a strong performance in its PC and Smart Device business and its Data Center business, just beating the US$13.95 billion analyst view.

Its Mobile Business Group also recorded a pre-tax profit for the first time since it bought Motorola in 2014 for US$2.9 billion, having strugged to integrate the assets.

Lenovo said revenue for its PC and Smart Device Business rose 12 per cent in the three months period.