Taiwanese PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁) holds a conservative view on whether the expected launch of Microsoft Corp’s latest operating system would drive PC demand in the second half of the year.
“We do not know whether Windows 10 will spur replacement demand for PCs. It is not necessary for consumers to replace their PCs because of a new operating system,” Acer chief executive Jason Chen (陳俊聖) told a news conference at the company’s headquarters in Taipei.
The news conference came after Acer last week posted a 30.86 percent annual decline in sales to NT$17.66 billion (US$564.83 million) for last month.
Acer’s revenue for April and last month totaled NT$33.48 billion, a plunge of 25.25 percent year-on-year.
The sales results mark Acer’s lowest April-May revenues since 2005, with some market analysts predicting that Acer will report an operating loss for this quarter.
Chen said one of the factors that caused the weak performance in the past two months was that Acer intentionally cut notebook shipments to avoid inventory piling up ahead of the launch of Windows 10.
“We kept notebook computer inventory at a relatively low level, given the delayed PC demand because of the anticipated launch of Windows 10,” Chen said.
Chen said stockpiles of low-cost notebooks in the company’s sales channels and high hedging costs due to foreign-exchange volatility also affected the April-May performance.
However, he declined to say whether he expects Acer to report a net loss this quarter or if it would face foreign-exchange losses because of the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar.
Chen said he had been closely monitoring the company’s finances on a weekly basis lately.
“This [PC business] is not an easy industry,” Chen said, adding that the situation in the PC industry is softer than he expected six months ago, mainly due to the weaker-than-expected global economy.
Apart from external factors, Acer faces issues regarding the company itself.
The company “must enhance its marketing strategies on digital platforms, including social media, in the face of the currently weak and competitive environment,” Chen said.
“Acer is too traditional in terms of marketing strategies,” Chen said.
He said the company should also work harder to improve its communication with consumers, such as adopting different means of communication in different regions of the world.
Acer shares have dropped 28.81 percent so far this year and closed at NT$15.2 yesterday in Taipei trading.
Chen said he recently purchased 700,000 Acer shares as part of his commitment to the company.
With this purchase, Chen now holds a total of 2.5 million Acer shares. He bought those shares for nearly NT$50 million, Chen said.
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