PC brand Acer Inc (宏碁) said yesterday it swung into profit in the first quarter thanks to the contribution of non-operating income, with earnings per share of NT$0.19.
“Due to a number of non-operating income sources during the first quarter, including foreign exchange and stock disposal gains, after-tax profit reached NT$515 million [US$17.24 million],” Acer said in an e-mailed statement.
Last quarter’s net income rose 55.59 percent from NT$331 million the previous year and compared with a net loss of NT$3.37 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, the company’s data showed.
The results beat HSBC Securities analyst Jenny Lai’s (賴惠娟) forecast of a net profit of NT$450 million and were ahead of a consensus estimate of NT$130 million by Bloomberg.
Acer said its operating income was NT$29 million in the first quarter, which also represented a substantial improvement from an operating loss of NT$3.37 billion in the previous quarter.
The company is preparing to launch higher-end products in the second half of the year in a bid to turn around its business, but Lai said in a note on Monday that strong competition from Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) would remain a key challenge.
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