Wistron Corp (緯創) has initiated a corporate restructuring plan this quarter after performing poorly in the first half of this year and last year, chairman and chief executive Simon Lin (林憲銘) told shareholders yesterday.
“We have been trying to carry out a business transition over the past five years, but the speed of the change was not fast enough to catch up with industry trends, leading to a weak performance last year,” Lin said at the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei.
The company’s net income plunged 37.73 percent to NT$3.58 billion (US$115 million) last year from NT$5.75 billion the previous year, with earnings per share falling to NT$1.5 from NT$2.45.
Last quarter, the contract notebook computer manufacturer made NT$733.73 million in net profit, marking a significant improvement from NT$341.94 million in the same period last year.
However, weaker-than-expected market demand recently forced the company to revise downward its shipment growth target for notebooks — which accounted for 47 percent of its total revenue — to a 5 percent quarterly decline from a 5 percent growth.
A restructuring plan, including personnel costs control and senior personnel adjustments, was needed to inspire employees amid the rising competition in the market, Lin said.
Wistron expects the restructuring plan to be completed in six to 12 months, Lin said.
Lin added that he has been training and monitoring some senior company officials over the past few years in his search for a possible successor.
“I am over 60 years old... This [seeking a new CEO] will be a very important thing to me in the next two to three years,” Lin said.
Finding a suitable person to lead the company is one of his major obligations to Wistron, he added.
Wistron president Robert Hwang (黃柏槫) has been rumored as a possible successor, but Lin did not reveal a clear plan for succession.
“Hwang will continue to play a key role in the company in the future,” he said.
Wistron reported sales of NT$44.87 billion last month, the lowest of the year, but Lin said he expects sales to grow next quarter on the back of rising shipments of smartphones and notebooks.
He forecast that sales in the second half would grow at a moderate pace of 10 percent from the first half of this year.
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