Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), the world’s biggest contract notebook computer maker, said yesterday that its net income and revenue rose to a record high last year amid growing shipments.
For the full year, net income grew 52 percent to NT$19.21 billion (US$599 million), or NT$4.91 per share, compared with the previous year, Compal said in an e-mailed statement.
Revenues also reached an all-time high of NT$626.22 billion last year, or about 55 percent year-on-year growth, the company said.
PERFORMANCE
The company’s full-year earnings largely exceeded the NT$4.30 per share forecast by Yuanta Securities (元大證券) analyst Vincent Chen (陳豊丰) and consensus projections of NT$4.20 per share.
Compal, which makes laptop computers for HP and Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s biggest computer makers, did not release detailed financial or laptop shipment figures yesterday.
The PC maker is believed to have shipped about 50 percent more laptop computers last year at about 37.84 million units, helping it overtake Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) as the world’s top contract notebook computer maker, Chen said.
Quanta’s shipments are believed to have dropped 2 percent year-on-year to 35.9 million units last year, Chen projected.
RATING
Chen gave a “buy” rating on Compal, with a target price of NT$52, an increase of about 12 percent from the stock’s closing price of NT$46 yesterday, a report dated last Wednesday showed.
Chen gave Quanta a “sell” rating.
Compal is scheduled to announce its business outlook for the first quarter on Friday.
Because of strong demand, Compal’s forecast is expected to be better than the 5 percent quarterly decline in laptop shipments expected in the current quarter, Chen said.
EARNINGS
The PC maker said fourth quarter earnings rose 56 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$8.03 billion, helped by growing business and asset gains — a record high, the statement said.
Compal made NT$5.14 billion in the third quarter of last year and NT$2.74 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, the company Web site said.
The company is believed to have more than doubled its shipments last quarter to 13 million units from a year ago, while rival Quanta could see growth of 12.7 percent annually, Chen said.
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