Pegatron Corp (和碩) chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) is to hold a product introduction event at the company’s headquarters in Taipei tomorrow to unveil a wide range of products and technologies, such as drones.
Accessories for virtual-reality applications, head-mounted displays and backpack PCs are also to be on display at the event, as the company plans to demonstrate its ability to catch up with market trends and respond to clients’ demand for innovative products.
This is Pegatron’s first-ever event to present its latest research and development progress to the media rather than one of its clients.
Pegatron, one of the assemblers for Apple Inc’s iPhone, said in a statement that mobile communication products, notebook PCs, two-in-one detachable notebooks and automotive electronics are still the company’s main focus this year.
Tung is also expected to present Pegatron’s second-generation drones during the event, the company said.
The drones are reportedly powered by Qualcomm Inc processors, and their performance and efficiency are similar to that of drones developed by China’s DJI Technology Co (大疆), according to people familiar with the matter.
Pegatron has cooperated with several clients to develop drones with different price points and performance, the people said.
Smart home and preschool education markets are new areas of investment for the company, they said.
Analysts said that Pegatron might use the event to demonstrate its capabilities to investors, while attracting potential clients other than Apple at a time when the growth momentum of its largest client appears to be not as strong as it was in the past few years.
Affected by sluggish sales of Apple’s iPhone, Pegatron’s net income plummeted 35.12 percent annually and 39.8 percent quarterly to NT$4.1 billion (US$126.13 million at the current exchange rate) in the first quarter of this year.
Revenue fell 8.64 percent annually to NT$321.59 billion in the first four months of this year, and its stock price has contracted 4.72 percent since the beginning of this year.
CEO Jason Cheng (程建中) last month told investors that Pegatron might see its business hit bottom this quarter, as its non-computing segment, including the iPhone assembly business, might contract by between 20 percent and 25 percent quarterly.
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