Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s fourth-largest computer maker, will return to profit this quarter as it no longer has the excess inventory problems which led to losses in the prior two periods, Acer president Jim Wong (翁建仁) said yesterday.
Shipments of ultrabooks, its thin and light notebooks, will be 250,000 to 300,000 units this quarter, meeting expectations, Wong said.
Ultrabook sales won’t be affected by the floods in Thailand because hard disks used in those models are mostly made in China, he said.
The company expects at least 90 percent of notebooks will be thinner than 1 inch, or 25.4 millimeters, within three years as the computer industry undergoes a paradigm shift, he added.
INVENTORY
Acer, which had risen to be the world’s second-largest computer maker, has been losing both money and market share for the past two quarters amid stiffer competition and inventory write-offs in Europe.
Investments in China, the world’s largest computer market, will help Acer climb to second spot among notebook makers there next year from fourth currently, Wong said.
Shares of Acer rose 0.3 percent to NT$33.5 at the close in Taipei, stemming its decline this year to 63 percent.
The benchmark TAIEX has dropped 23 percent in the same period.
Acer is expected to post a loss of NT$102 million (US$3.4 million) this quarter, according to the average of 13 analysts’ estimates compiled since it reported third-quarter earnings on Oct. 21.
Six of the analysts project a loss for the period and seven expect a profit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
FLOODS
Floods in Thailand will cause a 10 percent to 15 percent global shortage of hard disk drives, with Acer able to cope with the problem because its suppliers have inventories of the components, Wong said.
JOBS
“Abnormalities in terms of channel inventory stored in freight forwarders’ warehouses” prompted Acer on June 1 to announce it would cut 300 jobs and take a US$150 million inventory write-off in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Stockpiles have more than halved to about 30 days from as much as 80 days of inventory, while the company could also raise prices by up to 3 percent to tackle higher costs after the floods in Thailand, spokesman Henry Wang (汪島雄) said on Tuesday.
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