Computer brand Acer Inc (宏碁) reported a year-on-year increase of about 40 percent in net profit for last month and its highest monthly revenue this year.
In a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Monday, Acer said its net profit totaled NT$288 million (US$9.58 million), up 40.02 percent from last year, while its earnings per share was NT$0.10.
Acer’s consolidated sales rose 11.74 percent annually to NT$22.46 billion, the highest level so far this year.
The filing came as the Taiwan Stock Exchange requested that the company disclose its latest earnings, as prior to yesterday, Acer shares had gained more than 30 percent since Nov. 9, while foreign institutional investors had bought a net 34 million shares over the past five sessions.
Market analysts said the company’s financial figures reflected Acer’s momentum from last quarter, when it reported about NT$1.45 billion in net profit, an increase of more than 480 percent from a year earlier, and earnings per share of NT$0.48, its highest level in 27 quarters.
Company data showed that in the first three quarters of this year, Acer’s combined audited net profit reached NT$1.75 billion, more than double the profit for the same period last year, which totaled NT$833.31 million.
Since the beginning of the year, Acer has benefited from growing global demand for gaming computers, a trend that is expected to continue for the rest of this year, analysts said.
Acer has also been seeing returns on its non-core business investments, which have contributed to the significant improvement of its bottom line, analysts said.
According to the Taipei-based market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp (集邦科技), Acer’s notebook computer shipments grew by a quarterly 2.8 percent to 3.31 million in the third quarter, which put the company in sixth place worldwide with a global market share of 7.7 percent.
Acer’s gaming PC sales are estimated to comprise about 10 percent of its total revenue.
The firm’s net profit report failed to boost its shares yesterday, as the stock fell 0.24 percent to close at NT$21.20, while the weighted index gained more than 1 percent.
The stock dropped because investors were rushing to pocket their gains after Acer released its third quarter results on Nov. 9, analysts said.
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