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.
"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.
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