Acer Inc, the world's fourth-largest personal computer vendor, yesterday forecast that shipments would expand significantly to more than 25 million units next year and its market share would rise to about 12 percent following the acquisition of Gateway Inc and Packard Bell.
In response to investors' questions about synergies from the merger, Acer president Gianfranco Lanci said: "Acer can create different market segments via multiple brands."
Acer said it planned to sell computers under the brand-names Acer and Gateway in major markets such as the US and Europe and would finalize its brand strategy for other markets in March.
PHOTO: CHO YI-CHUN, TAIPEI TIMES
"We believe for the PC industry, it is very important to [expand] scale to survive," Lanci said.
Acer chairman Wang Jen-tang (
The company shipped nearly 14 million computers last year. It earlier forecast that shipments this year would rise 30 percent to 40 percent from last year.
Acer said it was positive about the PC industry's prospects next year, forecasting a low double-digit percentage growth year on year.
The company further expects its global market share to advance to between 11 percent and 12 percent next year from 8.1 percent, Wang said, allowing the firm to overtake Lenovo Group Ltd (
Operating margins would improve to 3 percent from 2.3 percent last quarter, bolstered by an estimated US$200 million in cost savings next year from joint component purchases after the merger, Wang said.
"The increase in operating margin is amazing," said Kirk Yang (
The improvement would translate into a substantial increase in profits for Acer in light of its large scale, Yang said.
Yang is also positive on the merger.
"Acer will start making money right after the purchase. Lenovo only began making profits two years after it bought the PC unit from IBM," he said.
Acer said it had completed its purchase of Gateway, the US' No. 5 PC brand, for US$710 million and the acquisition of Paris-based Packard Bell was on track.
Speaking of prospects for the current quarter, Lanci said: "It will be a better quarter than the third quarter. Revenue will be higher."
Acer said on Thursday that its third-quarter net income surged to NT$2.92 billion (US$89.94 million) from NT$1.85 billion a year earlier. Revenues increased roughly 29 percent to NT$121.93 billion from NT$94.73 billion during the same period.
Acer's on-hand orders for the current quarter are good, Wang said. Shipments may rise by 10 percent to 20 percent in the final quarter from the third quarter, he projected.
But a potential shortage in key components could cut 5 percent from its earnings forecast, the company said.
Acer shipped 60 percent more PCs to 5.44 million units in the third quarter from a year ago, market researcher International Data Corp's tallies showed.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last