Asustek Computer Inc’s (華碩) net profit grew nearly 200 percent to NT$5.83 billion (US$193.23 million) last quarter from the previous quarter’s NT$2.01 billion, supported by the launch of its ZenFone 4 series and its dividend income, company executives said yesterday.
Earnings per share were NT$7.9 in the July-to-September period, compared with NT$2.7 in the preceding three months.
“The performance of the company’s core businesses, such as handsets, personal computers and motherboards, showed significant improvement last quarter from a quarter ago,” Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an investors’ conference in Taipei, which was broadcast online.
Gross margin improved 2.19 percentage points quarterly to 14.4 percent, while operating margin climbed 0.93 percentage points to 3.9 percent, company data showed.
Non-operating income nearly quadrupled to NT$4.13 billion from the previous quarter’s NT$728 million, driven by dividend income of NT$2.79 billion, Asustek said.
In the first three quarters of the year, the firm’s accumulated net profit totaled NT$11.49 billion, but the figure still represented a 19.42 percent plunge from NT$14.26 billion in the same period last year.
Wu said Asustek expects revenue from its PC segment, which contributed 63 percent to the company’s total revenue last quarter, to grow by between 5 percent and 10 percent this quarter from last quarter, amid robust demand in a peak season.
Revenue from mobile devices is also forecast to grow by between 5 percent and 10 percent this quarter from last quarter, he added.
The company’s smartphone business could swing back to being profitable this quarter, Asustek chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來) said, adding that shipments of the ZenFone 4 series are likely to increase, as the company is receiving a positive response from consumers in many foreign markets.
Average selling prices of handsets in the ZenFone 4 series are 30 percent higher than those in the ZenFone 3 series, which also lends support to the smartphone business, Shen said.
Even so, Asustek is to streamline the smartphone product lines and focus its marketing resources in 10 markets, including Taiwan, Indonesia, India, France, Italy and Brazil, for the new generation of ZenFones next year, Shen said.
Asustek’s gaming products are to be another focus of the company’s operations next year, Shen said.
The company increased the number of employees in the gaming business unit threefold last quarter, as part of the firm’s corporate restructuring program, he said.
He said Asustek plans to expand its reach in the gaming segment to peripherals such as mice, as they tend to have higher margins.
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