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Acer shares up as second-quarter profits skyrocket

Shares in Acer Inc, Taiwan's largest personal-computer company, surged to a seven-week high yesterday after the company said second-quarter profit gained 36 percent on rising sales in the US and China.

The stock rose by the full 7 percent daily limit to close at NT$50.80 (US$1.51) on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Acer President Gianfranco Lanci said Acer added distributors such as Digital China (神州數碼) and Best Buy Co, the biggest US home-appliance chain, to trim Acer's reliance on Europe.

Lanci said in April the company expects US sales to double this year, and sales from China to expand four to five times from last year.

rating raised

The company's stock rating was raised by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Merrill Lynch & Co and Macquarie Securities Ltd.

"Expansion in the US and Chinese markets has started paying off for Acer," said Murphy Huang, who helps manage NT$2.3 billion (US$69 million) at PCA Securities Investment Trust Co in Taipei, including Acer shares.

The computer maker reported second-quarter profit rose to NT$3.08 billion from NT$2.27 billion a year earlier, boosted by sales of investments in electronics makers.

Acer's notebook ranking in China climbed to No. 4 in the first quarter, from No. 7 in the fourth quarter, the company said on June 8, citing data from market researcher Gartner Inc.

The company's global market share rose to 5.4 percent in the second quarter, up from 4.3 percent a year earlier, market researcher IDC said on July 19.
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