Taiwanese computer maker Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday trimmed its revenue and smartphone shipment forecasts for this quarter due to weaker-than-expected PC demand from Europe and a technological glitch in its handsets.
“We did not expect the demand in Europe to be this weak... Total sales this quarter will mainly be dragged down by the notebook segment,” Asustek spokesman David Chang (張偉明) said by telephone.
Asustek previously forecast that revenue would grow this quarter from last quarter’s NT$111.89 billion (US$3.64 billion), but now it expects revenue to be flat, Chang said.
The company expects demand for notebooks to pick up in the second half of the year, he added.
Asustek reported consolidated revenues of NT$33.04 billion for last month, down 21.57 percent from NT$38.62 billion in March and 4.06 percent from NT$34.43 billion a year ago.
Asustek is working on solving a product compatibility problem between its handsets’ hardware and software, which caused shipment delays last month, Chang said.
“We expect the problem to be solved shortly,” Chang said.
He said that due to the product compatibility issue, Asustek now expects to ship 4 million smartphones this quarter, down 1 million from the firm’s previous forecast of 5 million units.
The firm shipped 3 million handsets in the first quarter.
Asustek last month cut its annual smartphone shipment target from 30 million units to 25 million units this year. Based on last quarter’s shipment volume and the firm’s latest forecast for this quarter, Asustek would have to sell 18 million units in the second half of the year to reach its target.
A Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) analyst, who declined to be named, told the Taipei Times that Asustek’s poor monthly performance was mainly due to soft notebook demand from Europe and China.
The analyst said Asustek’s performance this quarter would rely heavily on smartphone sales.
“The firm’s revenues might look healthier this month and in June, if sales of Asustek’s smartphones pick up,” the analyst said.
The analyst said she expects Asustek’s annual smartphone shipment would be about 18 million units this year.
The company is likely to book foreign-exchange losses this quarter given currency volatility in emerging markets, but the loss would not be as big as last quarter because it has been adopting measures to limit its exposure, she said.
The analyst added that compared with the previous quarter, emerging markets’ currencies have stabilized, so Asustek is unlikely to face huge forex losses this quarter.
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