Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), one of the world’s largest PC brands, yesterday said its consolidated sales for the fourth quarter of last year fell 13 percent from a year earlier, at a time when trade tensions between the US and China affected global demand.
The company also cited a component shortage in the PC industry as a reason for the drop in sales from October to last month.
In a statement, Asustek said it posted consolidated sales of NT$99.4 billion (US$3.23 billion), down 3 percent from the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, Asustek said it generated NT$88.1 billion in brand sales in the fourth quarter, down 15 percent from a year earlier and down 6 percent from a quarter earlier.
Last month alone, the PC brand’s consolidated sales totaled NT$33.6 billion, down 8 percent from a year earlier and 3 percent from a month earlier, while its brand sales also fell 17 percent from a year earlier and dropped 14 percent from a month earlier to NT$22.7 billion.
Last year, Asustek’s consolidated sales fell 9.7 percent from a year earlier to NT$391.56 billion, while its brand sales shed 10 percent at NT$352.45 billion.
Asustek said it would focus more on developing gaming PCs, a niche market in the global PC business, and boosting its presence in the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) sector in a bid to deal with the impact of a slowing PC market and eventually rake in more sales.
Faced with escalating competition in the global PC industry, Asustek last month announced a management reshuffle with chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來) stepping down at the end of the month, beginning a period of business restructuring.
Under a new dual leadership model, S.Y. Hsu (許先越) and Samson Hu (胡書賓) became Austek’s chief executive officers on Tuesday last week to help guide the company’s AIoT venture.
Last month, Asustek said it would book about NT$6.2 billion in one-time expenses, including losses resulting from inventories, the amortization of advance royalties and costs from business reorganization in the fourth quarter, which raised concerns that it would report a loss for the quarter.
Asustek released its fourth quarter sales report before the local equity market closed yesterday. Its shares ended up 2.31 percent at NT$221 after the gains posted in the US and other regional markets.
Meanwhile, Asustek’s Taiwanese rival, Acer Inc (宏碁), has also experienced setbacks while trying to expand beyond its core PC-oriented business.
Acer on Friday last week rejected rumors that it is planning to dissolve StarVR Corp (宏星技術), its 63.25 percent-owned virtual reality subsidiary, in the middle of this year.
Acer said that it booked a loss of NT$233 million when its virtual reality partner, Swedish developer Starbreeze AB, filed for reconstruction at the beginning of last month, due to a lack of liquidity.
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