Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday announced plans to spin off its PC gaming accessories and smart devices businesses into a new wholly owned subsidiary to promote innovation and entrepreneurship within the company and to tap into market segments with higher profit margins.
The new unit, tentatively named Gadget Technology Inc (酷碁), would be the new home of Acer’s expansions into premium PC gaming mice and keyboards, headphones, suitcases and chairs, as well as smart devices, such as prayer beads and air quality monitors, Acer spokesperson Wayne Chang (張鉅靈) told a news conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei.
Sales of peripherals and accessories during the first half of this year are estimated at about NT$300 million (US$9.8 million), he said.
Asked whether Acer intends to let Gadget Technology serve as the company’s internal start-up incubator and if it plans to stage an initial public offering for the unit, Chang said that neither option has been ruled out.
Acer, which bundles accessories to promote PC sales, has not yet decided on whether the unit would be billed Gadget Technology after it begins to operate independently as a subsidiary, he said.
The businesses, which were grouped under Acer’s information technology business unit, are valued at about NT$45 million, Chang said, adding that they are scheduled to be spun off on Sept. 14.
NT$75.66 million in assets and NT$30.66 million in liabilities would be transferred to Gadget Technology, he added.
Boosted by strong sales of PC gaming laptops, Acer yesterday reported that net income in the second quarter rose 24.4 percent to NT$881 million, or earnings per share of NT$0.29, its highest level for the April-to-June period in eight years.
Consolidated revenue in the period totaled NT$58.48 billion, up 9.1 percent from a year earlier.
Gross profit was NT$6.43 billion with a margin of 11 percent, while operating income totaled NT$930 million with a margin of 1.6 percent, the company said.
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