A spokesman from Benq Inc (明電) said yesterday that the company will become one of the world's top five suppliers of liquid crystal displays this year.
The mobile-phone and computer peripheral maker, formerly known as Acer Communications and Multimedia, based its predition on growing demand from overseas buyers.
Sales of the space-saving LCD computer monitors are expected to increase 78 percent this year, according to International Data Corp, a market research firm.
"Last year, [traditional] CRT monitors dominated our monitor sales. This year, it will be LCD monitors and in the LCD arena. We expect to be in the top five," said Alex Liou, a spokesman for Benq.
Benq expects LCD monitor sales to drive revenue 30 percent higher this year to NT$70 billion, from NT$58.8 billion last year.
The company forecasts sales of 3 million units this year, up from last year's sales of 1.1 million LCD displays.
Computer displays will account for 50 percent of Benq's sales, while mobile phones and storage devices, such as CD-rewritable (CD-RW) and DVD-ROM machines, will each account for 25 percent of sales.
Gaining a top-fiveranking will not be easy. Benq is currently 10th in the world, behind Hewlett-Packard Co, with a 3.7 percent share of the world market, according to US-based research group Display Search.
To enter the top five, Benq will have to leapfrog over competitors like H-P, Sony, and South Korea's LG Electronics.
In terms of the company's bottom line, storage device and mobile phone sales will also grow this year, Liou said.
Increased demeand for DVD-ROM products could propel first-quarter revenue past NT$22.8 billion, far better than analysts previously expected.
"During the second half of last year, a lot of Japanese companies quit manufacturing [CD-RWs and DVDs] because of high production costs and began to outsource. Some of them are our new customers," Liou said.
Increased outsourcing is also boosting Benq's mobile-phone sales.
He said increased orders from multinationals will increase Benq's handset shipments to 10 million units this year from 6.8 million last year.
"Because of sluggish handset sales worldwide, we expect to have more ODM opportunities than before. New orders from our top client, Motorola Inc, will increase our output far beyond that of last year," he said.
Investors appear to agree with Benq's rosy forecasts. The company's stock price has risen 163 percent from its 52-week low of NT$24.5 last October to end trading yesterday at NT$64.5 per share.
Some analysts feared Benq's new identity might affect sales. While the Acer brand name is recognized worldwide and Benq is not, Liou said the name change has had little impact on sales in China or elsewhere.
"Why did we change the name? We wanted a separate identity ... We aren't really an Acer company anymore," Liou said.
The letters of the new name stand for the company's new slogan, Bring Enjoyment aNd Quality to life, he said.
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