Asustek Computer Inc (
Shares of the nation's largest maker of motherboards gained NT$3.20, or 3.6 percent, to close at NT$92.20 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, outperforming a 0.11-percent increase in the benchmark TAIEX.
In a filing with the local exchange late on Monday, Asustek said profit in the first six months rose 91 percent from a year earlier to NT$13.58 billion (US$411 million).
Second-quarter profit rose to NT$6.85 billion as the company sold more notebook computers under its own Asus brand.
The company also makes computers for Apple Inc and Sony Corp as well as Sony's PlayStation 3 games console.
The research team at Citigroup Global Markets said in a note dated on Monday that it would maintain a "buy" rating on the Asustek stock as the company is still one of its top picks in the Asia personal computer and motherboard sector.
Citigroup gave a target price of NT$125 for Asustek, given the company's strong improvement margin and record profits from brand business.
Asustek will provide full second-quarter financial details including non-operating profit and outlook at a briefing on Sept. 4 in Taipei.
"While we wait for the analyst meeting on Sept. 4 for more details, we believe Asustek's stock price would react positively to the strong 2007 results," Citigroup analyst Kirk Yang (
UBS AG also maintained a "buy" rating on the stock and raised its 12-month price target to NT$118 from NT$105.
"Asustek could maintain above industry growth given its differentiated product offering, favorable emerging markets exposure and limited US presence," UBS analyst Arthur Hsieh (
"Companies with solid scorecards are favored by investors," Hsieh said. "Ultimately they will make decisions based on corporate profitability."
Taipei-based Asustek won an order from Dell Inc, the world's second-largest computer supplier, to make laptops for delivery beginning in the second half of next year, Hsieh wrote.
Citigroup expects Asustek to ship 61 million motherboards, 7 million to 7.5 million notebook computers and 200,000 to 500,000 units of the super low-cost computer, Eee PC, this year.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS