Dell Computer Corp chairman Michael Dell said on Thursday the company's financial performance should not be affected by the earthquake that knocked out industrial production in Taiwan last month.
He said Taiwanese computer parts plants damaged in the Sept. 21 temblor quickly resumed production and Dell, the world's second largest personal computer seller, had used its market muscle to assure a steady stream of computer chips.
"In terms of [third quarter] specifically, I think we're going to do okay ... all of the things we've seen so far seem to be addressable through supplier leverage," Dell said at a meeting with analysts.
"We're going to squeeze out the little guys, and I think we're going to get the parts we need," he said. "I feel very, very good about the long-term environment and I don't think the short-term environment is going to be one that has massive obstructions to our business."
Dell's stock had fallen on fears that computer parts would be in short supply after the earthquake, which killed over 2,200 people. Dell said the company was being more affected by an industry-wide shortage of screens for notebook computers than by the Taiwan tragedy.
Positive picture
Generally, Dell painted a positive picture for analysts, saying the company had targeted four business segments -- computer services, global expansion, home and small business consumers and enterprise systems -- each of which had the potential to add US$10 billion in revenues.
"It's not hard to see how we could grow from US$26 billion [in revenues] this year to US$50 [billion] or US$70 billion any number of years out. We see huge opportunities," he said.
Dell reported revenues of US$18.2 billion for the year ended January 1999. Analysts had estimated the company would generate US$26 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Internet adds to sales
Dell said the company is just starting to see the economic payoff from its use of the Internet, and over time, the Internet could help Dell Computer cut its costs by up to 50 percent.
He said Dell had recently joined its competitors in offering US$400 rebates to computer buyers who also sign up for a three-year subscription, at US$21.95 a month, to Dell.Net, the company's Internet service provider.
Previously, Dell had resisted giving rebates, but Michael Dell said they had "clearly become a market factor" the company could no longer ignore.
Paul Bell, head of Dell's consumer segment, told analysts that the company gets improved margins from the rebates.
"Margins are actually better for us ... because US$21.95 a month is way over cost for an ISP (Internet Service Provider) these days. The cost of [an ISP] has come down tremendously," he said.
Bell said Dell offers its rebate customers the opportunity to later upgrade to broad-bandwidth, high-speed Internet service when it becomes available.
UNCERTAINTIES: Exports surged 34.1% and private investment grew 7.03% to outpace expectations in the first half, although US tariffs could stall momentum The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast to 3.05 percent this year on a robust first-half performance, but warned that US tariff threats and external uncertainty could stall momentum in the second half of the year. “The first half proved exceptionally strong, allowing room for optimism,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “But the growth momentum may slow moving forward due to US tariffs.” The tariff threat poses definite downside risks, although the scale of the impact remains unclear given the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s policies, Lien said. Despite the headwinds, Taiwan is likely
When Lika Megreladze was a child, life in her native western Georgian region of Guria revolved around tea. Her mother worked for decades as a scientist at the Soviet Union’s Institute of Tea and Subtropical Crops in the village of Anaseuli, Georgia, perfecting cultivation methods for a Georgian tea industry that supplied the bulk of the vast communist state’s brews. “When I was a child, this was only my mum’s workplace. Only later I realized that it was something big,” she said. Now, the institute lies abandoned. Yellowed papers are strewn around its decaying corridors, and a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin
UNIFYING OPPOSITION: Numerous companies have registered complaints over the potential levies, bringing together rival automakers in voicing their reservations US President Donald Trump is readying plans for industry-specific tariffs to kick in alongside his country-by-country duties in two weeks, ramping up his push to reshape the US’ standing in the global trading system by penalizing purchases from abroad. Administration officials could release details of Trump’s planned 50 percent duty on copper in the days before they are set to take effect on Friday next week, a person familiar with the matter said. That is the same date Trump’s “reciprocal” levies on products from more than 100 nations are slated to begin. Trump on Tuesday said that he is likely to impose tariffs
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
RSS