Asustek posts profit rise, expects surging notebook sales

Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday reported that fourth-quarter profits reached NT$6.43 billion (US$199 million), up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, and said it expected continued growth this year on the back of surging notebook shipments.

"Asustek plans to increase notebook sales by 63 percent to 7 million units this year," Asustek president Jerry Shen (沈振來) told a media briefing yesterday.

Shen said that demand for the company's Eee PC notebooks had reached 1 million units, but the company might only be able to fill 650,000 to 700,000 units in the first quarter given a global shortage of notebook batteries.

Nonetheless, full-year sales of Eee PCs are expected to reach between 3.5 million and 5 million units, which will help secure Asustek's 50 percent market share, Shen said.

"The supply of batteries in the second quarter will be a crucial point. Asustek believes the shortage will be resolved by then," Shen said.

The company also expects motherboard shipments to see another 13 percent growth to 24 million units this year, he said.

Shen yesterday confirmed that the company planned to sell shares of its two wholly owned subsidiaries -- Pegatron Technology (和聯) and Unihan Technology (永碩) -- in the near future, but declined to elaborate.

Asustek also announced plans to outsource manufacturing of select products to companies, including Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶), by the third quarter at the latest.

Handheld devices will be the first product line to be outsourced. The company will also start a trial run to outsource less than 10 percent of its notebook production, the company said.

Commenting on the impact of the snowstorm in China, Shen said it should have limited impact on the company's components shipments as Asustek had operation hubs in Europe and Asia which carry at least a month's worth of inventory.

However, notebook shipments, which do not go through these operation hubs, may be slightly affected, with shipments likely to decline about 10,000 to 20,000 units this month and another 5 percent next month, Shen said.