Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) expects PC demand for this quarter to be weaker than last quarter, after last quarter reporting the weakest profit in the past 15 quarters.
“Consumers might delay PC purchases because of the anticipated launches of the Windows 10 operating system in July and Intel Corp’s Skylake processor in August, which will consequently affect industry demand this quarter,” chief executive Jerry Shen (沈振來) told an investors’ conference.
Asustek now expects to ship 5 million PC-related products this quarter, down 7.4 percent from last quarter’s 5.4 million units, with notebook computer shipments likely declining by 6.25 percent to 4.5 million units, chief financial officer David Chang (張偉明) said.
However, the Taipei-based company expects more than 50 percent growth in its ZenBook series this quarter from last quarter, while shipments of EeeBooks and Chromebooks could increase by 10 percent quarterly.
Asustek is upbeat about the growth of its smartphone segments this quarter.
“We launched ZenFone 2 in eight countries and received satisfying market reactions. Asustek foresees smartphone shipments increasing by 60 percent to 4.8 million handsets this quarter,” Shen said.
Shen said the first-generation ZenFone recently crossed the 10-million unit mark and the company expects to clear all first-generation inventory by the end of this quarter.
The company expects the revenue contribution from its smartphone segment to account for 15 to 20 percent this quarter amid robust global demand, Shen said.
Shen said Asustek’s annual smartphone shipment target ranges from 17 million units to 25 million units, adding that if the company is doing well in the Chinese market, it should not be a problem to reach 25 million handsets by the end of this year.
Shen said Asustek is more optimistic about PC shipments growing next quarter after Windows 10 and Skylake hit the market.
“Notebook shipments next quarter will grow by at least a double-digit percentage from this quarter,” Shen said, adding that Asustek plans to launch two new Chromebooks in the US next quarter.
In the January-to-March quarter, Asustek posted earnings per share of NT$4.96, the lowest since the second quarter of 2011.
The company’s net income dropped 16 percent annually and 18 percent quarterly to NT$3.68 billion (US$119.44 million) last quarter, because of the weak PC demand and volatility of Brazil’s currency against the US dollar, Chang said.
As the Brazilian real has been stable since last month, Asustek does not expect more foreign-exchange losses this quarter, he said.
Asustek shares fell 0.99 percent to NT$300.5 yesterday in Taipei trading, underperforming the TAIEX, which gained 0.18 percent.
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