PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday reported its worst fourth-quarter sales result since 2005, mainly due to weaker-than-expected notebook demand and an ongoing corporate transformation.
The Taipei-based company’s revenue plunged 20.85 percent to NT$68.01 billion (US$2.02 billion) last quarter from a year earlier, though that marked a slight increase of 1.16 percent from NT$67.23 billion a quarter earlier, the firm’s stock filing said.
That brought the firm’s combined revenue to NT$263.48 billion for last year, an annual decline of 20.11 percent from NT$329.83 billion the previous year.
Acer attributed the disappointing sales to the industry’s headwinds and a sluggish global economy last year.
“Even though the fourth quarter of the year is usually the peak season, Acer failed to experience expected benefits,” an Acer public relations official said by telephone.
Overall shipments last month were softer than in November last year, the official said, adding that sell-through results in Europe last quarter fared weaker than Acer’s previous estimate.
In addition, as the company remains in a process of corporate transformation, Acer had to reallocate its limited resources to other segments that might bring more gains and efficiencies to the company, the firm said.
Limited resources might explain why Acer's notebook shipments seemed to fall harder than its peers, the official said.
Acer declined to offer shipment guidance for this quarter, citing uncertainties, such as the international economy, which might continue to weigh on the notebook industry’s outlook.
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