Inventec Corp (英業達) believes product diversification is the key for the company to stand out in the competitive technology industry and help it ward off challenges from the rise of mobile devices, chairman Richard Lee (李詩欽) told shareholders yesterday.
Supported by increased shipments of handsets, servers and other products used in data centers, the world’s fourth-largest contract laptop maker saw its net profit grow 117 percent to NT$7.07 billion (US$236 million) last year from NT$1.8 billion in 2012. Earnings per share more than doubled to NT$1.97 last year from the previous year.
“Inventec is striving to keep up with market trends and deliver products that satisfy users’ needs,” Lee said at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting. “The company will continue diversifying its product mix and client base for a better financial performance.”
Notebook manufacturing remains Inventec’s major business, contributing more than half of total sales, Lee said.
Non-PC products have become the firm’s new sales drivers since last year, with the server business accounting for more than 25 percent of overall sales and the handset business 10 percent, he said.
“Servers and handsets are expected to drive Inventec’s sales through the second half of the year,” Lee said.
The company’s handset subsidiary, Inventec Appliance Corp (英華達), supplies smartphones to Chinese brands Xiaomi Corp (小米), ZTE Corp (中興), Huawei (華為) and Coolpad (酷派).
Inventec Appliance earlier this year set a global shipment target of 40 million smartphones, up 33 percent from 30 million units last year.
The company also gave positive prospects about its investments in solar energy, after its two solar power subsidiaries, Inventec Solar Energy Corp (英穩達) and E-Ton Solar Tech Co (益通), saw smaller losses in the first quarter.
With global demand expected to increase and product prices on the rise, returns on the solar firms are expected to further increase in the second quarter, Lee said.
Meanwhile, Lee said he plans to stay in his post for another three years following the re-election of the company’s board of directors, while the firm’s shareholders approved a proposal to distribute a NT$1.6 cash dividend this year.
Based on Inventec shares closing price of NT$27.7 yesterday, that is a yield of 5.77 percent.
This story has been updated since it was first published.
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