Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- Dell , the world 's number three PC maker , reported Thursday a 79 % profit plunge for the first quarter of the year -- to just $ 130 million -- owing to a slump in desktop and laptop sales , so-called `` end-user computing '' products . Quarterly operating income for the division fell 65 % year on year . `` In the PC industry , everyone is struggling -- not just Dell -- and especially in the mobile PC market , '' says Craig Stice , Senior Principal Analyst at U.S.-based Compute Platforms . `` When I look at those ( Dell ) revenues split between mobility and desktop , they 're really not too far out of line with where the industry is at . The entire PC market struggled in Q1 . '' Technology research firm Gartner estimated 79 million PC shipments occurred in the first quarter of 2013 -- a fall of more than 11 % year on year . HP saw a 24 % drop in PC shipments , Dell fell 11 % while Taiwan-based Acer Group fell nearly 30 % . The fall in global PC shipments contrasted with a rise in tablet volumes , according to IDC , an IT market research firm . From January to March this year , Apple shipped nearly 20 million units to be the world 's number one tablet maker ; Samsung shipped nearly 9 million units for second place . The world 's top five tablet computer companies shipped more than 49 million units to record 142 % growth year on year . Dell has been trying to counter losses in its PC division by shifting to enterprise solutions , which includes hardware like computer servers , software for business applications and technical support to service clients . Dell 's quarterly operating income for the enterprise division soared 71 % to $ 79 million but contributed just 8 % of the company 's total income . `` Enterprise solutions are significant growth opportunities , '' says Stice . `` The margins are certainly better than the PC area -- high single digits to the low teens -- versus the enterprise space which is considerably higher . '' In terms of hardware units sold for enterprise solutions , HP has traditionally been number one , with Dell and IBM rounding out the top three , adds Stice . Still , the future seems anything but bright for the PC industry despite a flurry of attempted innovations , from super-thin and light ultrabooks to convertible PCs that can morph into tablet forms . `` Dell was a bit slow to the Ultrabook game and lost to players like ( Taiwan 's ) Asus and Acer , '' says Richard Lai , Editor-in-Chief of Engadget Chinese . In addition , Dell 's dive into convertible laptops `` was rather half-hearted : poor screen , too bulky . '' `` You can kind of say the PC industry is throwing darts at the board to see what sticks , '' says Stice . `` If they can find that combination of a whole computing performance PC , with mobility and a low price point to compete with some of those $ 200 media tablets , then I think there 's opportunity . There 's still an opportunity for a PC refresh cycle . That can happen . ''
Dell says first quarter profits fall nearly 80 % on slump in desktop , laptop sales . Analyst : 'PC industry throwing darts at the board to see what sticks ' Gartner : PC shipments fell 11 % year on year in the first quarter . Dell attempting to shift from personal computers to `` enterprise solutions '' focus .