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MiTAC projects GPS sales will rocket next year

MiTAC International Corp (神達電腦), the world's top aftermarket automotive GPS maker, yesterday said that sales would grow by double-digit percentage points next year, benefiting from brisk demand for the navigation devices.

"We are seeing positive growth momentum for 2006. Messages from our partners show that demand, mostly from Europe, will be robust," MiTAC president Billy Ho (何繼武) said.

Handheld GPS and mobile phones with built-in GPS receivers would be the fastest-growing area next year, as "GPS is a new market and has great growth potential," Ho said.

MiTAC, which makes the navigating device for the world's major navigator brands including German GPS giant Medion AG and TomTom International BV, expects GPS shipments to triple to 3 million this year from last year.

That indicates MiTAC would have around 37 percent market share of the world's total 8-million sales of portable GPS and handsets with GPS functions this year. Ho predicted that global handheld GPS sales would nearly double to 15 million next year.

GPS-related business accounts for more than 20 percent of MiTAC's total sales this year and the percentage would rise to around 30 percent next year, Ho said.

MiTAC also makes desktop computers, motherboards and servers.

Sales would increase by at least double-digit percentage points next year from the company's forecast of between NT$72.1 billion and NT$73.1 billion for this year, he said.

Ho made the remarks during a brand-name product launch yesterday. The Mio A700 mobile phone is the first handset MiTAC has rolled out in nearly one-and-a-half years.

"We have high hopes for the mobile phone, marking a new start for MiTAC in the smartphone area. We hope the product will help MiTAC catch up with High Tech Computer Corp (宏達電子)," Ho said.

Ho said his companies are approaching mobile operators to provide the handset.

Mio A700 is equipped with a built-in GPS receiver and Microsoft's latest Windows operating software for pocket PCs.

MiTAC launched the product in Beijing last week after Chinese affiliate MiTAC Kunshan Ltd (昆達) obtained approval from the Chinese government to sell bran-ded handsets in early October, following local competitors BenQ Corp (明基) and Inventec Appliances Corp (英華達).

MiTAC aims to sell 200,000 Mio A700 handsets within the next six months, said Samuel Wang, president of Mio Technology Ltd (宇達電通). Mio Technology is in charge of selling Mio-brand products around the world.

Seeing MiTAC's strong presence in the GPS market, Vincent Chen (陳豊丰), an analyst with research investment CLSA Ltd, gave a "buy" on MiTAC with a 12-month target price of NT$58.7.

MiTAC shares dropped 4.23 percent to NT$45.3 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
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