Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s third- largest maker of personal computers, reported a 17 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit after grabbing market share with its low-cost netbook and cutting expenses.
Net income climbed to NT$2.81 billion (US$83 million), or NT$1.08 per share, from NT$2.4 billion, or NT$0.99, a year earlier, the Taipei-based company said in a statement yesterday.
Profit missed the NT$2.97 billion median of 11 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.
Sales of the Aspire One netbook and acquisitions helped boost Acer’s market share by 2.4 percentage points in the period at the expense of Dell Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), researcher IDC said.
The company may extend gains as the global recession prompts consumers to switch to netbooks, compact computers that sell for less than half the price of standard notebooks.
“As the consumer’s interest moves to favor the value segment, we expect Acer to continue its aggressive market share gains in 2009,” Jenny Lai (賴惠娟), who rates the company “buy” at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Taipei, wrote in a report on Monday.
Revenue for the period dropped 8 percent to NT$135 billion after the July introduction of the Aspire One, an ultra-compact model that retails for about US$400, and the global economic downturn prompted consumers to switch to cheaper computers. Acer held around 45 percent of the netbook market during the period, CLSA estimates showed.
Fourth-quarter operating profit climbed 15 percent from a year earlier to NT$3.98 billion, while operating margin was 2.94 percent, Acer said in the statement.
Acer’s shares have added 20 percent this year to close at NT$51, outpacing a 14 percent advance in the benchmark TAIEX index.
The Taiwanese company took the top spot in the netbook segment from Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) which inspired the market with its own Eee PC low-cost laptop in October 2007.
Other netbook makers including Hewlett-Packard Co, Dell and Lenovo held a combined market share of about 20 percent, Taipei-based Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute said.
Acer’s computer shipments climbed 25 percent during the fourth quarter, the most among the top five vendors, allowing it to climb to 11.8 percent of the market, IDC said on Jan. 14. Hewlett-Packard and Dell maintained their lead amid a 0.4 percent decline in global sales by units.
Overall computer shipments will drop 4.5 percent this year, while notebooks will climb 4.3 percent, IDC forecast on March 5.
Netbook sales will almost double this year to 21 million units, even as the total PC market shrinks 12 percent, researcher Gartner Inc said last month.
Gains of as much as 10 percent in some markets will help Acer add 2 percentage points to 3 percentage points to its global laptop share this year, it said on Feb. 23.
Notebooks contribute about 65 percent of the company’s revenue.
Acer’s release last month of a 10-inch version of its Aspire One model and four new mobile phones will help boost sales this year, Vincent Chen (陳豊丰), who rates the stock “buy” at Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控), wrote in a March 24 report.
Rebounding Russian and European currencies could also help boost demand in those markets, he wrote.
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