Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday said it forecast its notebook shipments would grow 7.6 percent next year from this year, while tablet computer shipments would increase by 90 percent in the same period.
The shipment targets came at a gathering yesterday of more than 1,000 Asustek managers and executives, including chairman Johnny Shih (施崇棠), vice chairman Jonathan Tsang (曾鏘聲) and chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來), at the company’s Guandu (關渡) headquarters for its five-day annual global sales meeting to discuss internal sales target for next year.
Despite the global economic slowdown, Asustek outperformed its competitors in sales this year, with total unconsolidated revenue reaching NT$305 billion (US$10.5 billion) in the first 10 months, up 15.85 percent compared with the same period of last year.
By product, Asustek said notebook shipments were expected to continue growing to 24 million units from this year’s 22.3 million and tablet shipments to increase to 12 million units from 6.3 million units this year.
Total shipment of notebook and tablet computers are expected to reach 36 million units next year.
Asustek said it believed 7-inch tablet computers would be the main driver of its sales next year. During the company’s investors’ conference last month, Asustek said it forecast tablet shipments would reach at least 10 million next year.
On Oct. 30, Shen told investors and analysts that the company expected its notebook and 2-in-1 computers to rank No. 2 after Apple Inc’s products. He also expected to sell at least 10 million of Google Inc’s Android-powered tablets next year, including the popular 7-inch Nexus 7, Asustek’s tablet co-branded with Google, and its PadFone series.
Asustek said shipments of its 2-in-1 PadFone, which combines a smartphone with a tablet computer, will double next year to 1 million units.
The computer maker yesterday said it is confident that its latest VivoBook touch-screen notebook will carry on its sales momentum through to next year, sustaining the company’s leading place in the touch-screen notebook market, although competition in the sector will intensify next year as differences between each competitor’s market share decrease.
Asustek shares fell by 2 percent to NT$318.5 yesterday at the close of trading in Taipei, underperforming the broader market, which gained 0.26 percent.
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