Own-brand shipments could soar for Asustek

Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) is expected to ship up to 2.5 million brandname notebook computers next year, up from around 1.43 million units this year, an analyst said yesterday.

The 1.43 million units figure is far lower than the 2 million unit goal it had set last year, said Simon Yang (楊勝帆), an analyst at the Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所).

A Chinese-language newspaper also reported yesterday that Asustek, the nation's largest notebook maker, is expected to ship 1.6 million notebooks this year, making it the No. 10 player globally.

If the target is achieved, it will bring shipments of Asustek's brandname notebooks to over 50 percent of total notebook shipments for the first time, surpassing its contract-manufacturing notebook business, the report said.

The newspaper also suggested Asustek's brandname notebook volumes may soar to 3 million units worldwide next year, citing unnamed industry sources.

This would push Asustek past Japan's Sony Corp, and make it the No. 8 player next year. Moreover, this suggests that Asustek's notebook product line could gain the same significance as its core motherboard business next year, the report added.

But another analyst said the company's hopes of joining the top-eight club next year might be dashed, despite continued efforts to build up its own-brand product lines.

"It is a fact that the company's notebook business is going extremely well in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in Taiwan and China. But it doesn't mean that it will be able to reach 3 million units next year," the analyst, who preferred not to be named as the remark could preclude him from making future company visits, told the Taipei Times yesterday.

"There are still uncertainties ahead for the notebook market. As the new Intel Napa platform will only become mature in the third quarter of next year, it might not trigger consumers to upgrade their notebooks so quickly," the analyst said.

The newspaper's report also said that Asustek's strong branded notebook shipments are affecting its contract-manufacturing relationship with Sony.

Currently, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) are the two major contract manufacturers for Sony notebooks. Asustek only produces one product line for Sony, accounting for 10 percent of Sony's total shipments, it said.

"As Asustek has been branching out to the own-brand notebook segment, this has affected the performance of its contract business. The effect has been especially obvious this year as Sony has passed major orders to Hon Hai," the analyst said.

Topology Research forecasts that Sony will ship 2.9 million units of portable computers next year, up from 2.47 million this year.

Under these projections, Sony would beat Asustek next year and cement its No. 8 position in the global notebook market.