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HONG KONG -- Lenovo Group Ltd.'s latest results suggest the Chinese computer company is finally starting to look like a true multinational, but they came with a surprise -- the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Mary Ma, a major player in the company's global expansion.

The earnings report shows that job cuts, management shuffles and a new global branding strategy at Lenovo, the world's fourth-largest personal-computer company by shipments, may be paying off. In its fiscal fourth quarter, Lenovo returned to profitability with its best quarterly results since it bought the personal-computer division of International Business Machines Corp. for $1.25 billion two years ago.

The company surprised investors by announcing the resignation of Ms. Ma, 54 years old, who had been a top architect of the IBM acquisition and who long has been one of the highest-ranking businesswomen in Asia. Ms. Ma is stepping down after 17 years with the company, and Lenovo said her retirement was a personal decision. She will stay on as nonexecutive vice chairman.

The question now is whether Lenovo can sustain its momentum in a highly competitive environment. The company has had uneven quarterly results. Analysts say they want to see consistent signs of improvement before they sign off on the notion that Lenovo is turning around.

The company, which has headquarters in Beijing and Raleigh, N.C., posted net profit of $60 million, or 70 cents a share, for the quarter ended March 31, in contrast to a year-earlier loss of $116 million, which included a $70 million restructuring charge. Consolidated revenue rose 9.3% to $3.42 billion.

Most significantly, Lenovo made money in all the major geographic areas where it has operations, including North America, indicating it is no longer relying solely on the runaway success of its Chinese business to prop up the rest of its operations. "We are confident that we are at the tipping point," said Chairman Yang Yuanqing, who recently relocated to Raleigh from Beijing as part of the company's effort to boost its North American operations.

Lenovo's strong quarter comes on the heels of a two-year effort to get costs under control. In the cutthroat PC industry, where margins are razor-thin, Lenovo has suffered from having a higher cost structure than many rivals, such as Taiwan's Acer Inc., in part because so much of its operation was based in the U.S. as a legacy of the IBM acquisition. Lenovo's expense-to-revenue ratio is roughly 11% to 12%, according to Mr. Yang, compared with an industry average of 8% to 9%.

But Lenovo has been aggressively cutting costs, and the rows of empty cubicles in its Raleigh headquarters tell part of the story. Last month, the company announced its second restructuring since the IBM deal with a plan to save $100 million this fiscal year by eliminating or moving 1,400 jobs, or roughly 5% of its global work force. Many of the jobs were moved to Asia from higher-cost locations in the U.S.

Lenovo's world-wide PC shipments rose more than 17% in the latest quarter, above the industry average of roughly 11%. Gross margins edged up 1.2 percentage points to 15.2%. The board proposed a final dividend of 36 cents a share.

Born in Shanghai and educated in Wisconsin and London, Ms. Ma often is credited with helping transform the Chinese computer company into a global player with her ability to understand the dynamics of markets around the world.

"Mary Ma is the person who put Lenovo on the map," said Citigroup analyst Kirk Yang, who views her departure as a significant loss for the company. "From her perspective, her job is done. They bought IBM and now things are back on track."

Ms. Ma will be succeeded by Lenovo director Wong Wai Ming, 49, chief executive of Singapore's Roly International Holdings Group, which has interests in global supply-chain management and home-decor products. He isn't well known in the PC industry, but supply-chain management has long been a weak spot for Lenovo. That is partly because Lenovo does some of its production work in house -- in contrast to its many rivals who outsource all production -- increasing its costs.