Dbtel says brandname handset sales to double

Dbtel Inc (大霸電子), a leading Taiwanese mobile-phone maker, expects sales of its brand-name handsets to double this year from last year amid sizzling replacement demand fueled by camera phones, company chairman Michael Mou (莫皓然) said on Monday.

The 25-year-old Dbtel, which started to sell brandname handsets two and half years ago after ending a partnership with Motorola Inc, sold around 4.92 million handsets last year, Dbtel spokesperson Fanny Chuang (莊慧玉) said.

"As handset demand this year appears strong, I believe Dbtel has the potential to hit that goal" of doubling sales, Chuang said.

Chuang said her company already saw signs of growing replacement demand for camera phones in the fourth quarter of last year.

The private Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所) also said it expected to see a "surprising" 73-percent composite growth rate for camera phones up to 2006 around the world.

Topology predicted global camera phone shipments to jump to approximately 100 million units this year.

Dbtel claims to be Taiwan's No.1 mobile-phone brand by unit sales, ahead of BenQ Corp (明基電通) and Inventec Appliances Corp (英華達), which sold its cellphone handsets under the brand OKWAP.

"In addition to better market demand, the expansion into middle and high ends this year will also fuel unit sales," Chuang added.

Dbtel is scheduled to unveil its first high-end mobile phone with multiple functions, including still pictures and video, she said.

The company plans to roll out around 20 models this year, most of them equipped with built-in digital cameras, according to Chuang. Dbtel has allocated about 5 percent of its annual sales over the past 10 years to developing new phones, she said.

The company said its consolidated revenues last year more than doubled to about NT$17.49 billion from NT$8.15 billion achieved the year before.

Some 90 percent of the company's sales came from China, with the rest coming from Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Sales of brand-name phones grew at a faster pace to NT$16.58 billion last year, up from NT$6.95 billion in 2002, according to Chuang.

Dbtel shares declined by 1.35 percent, or NT$0.5 to end at NT$36.50 last Friday.