COMPUTERS
Asustek profit drops 31%
Laptop computer maker Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday reported that revenue last month fell 31.05 percent year-on-year to NT$26.36 billion (US$874.24 million). The company’s consolidated sales last quarter fell 17.55 percent year-on-year to NT$70.85 billion. Asustek attributed the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic, which hindered production in February and last month. Nevertheless, shipments last quarter were better than expected due to an increase in demand for PCs, as the pandemic helped boost the growing trend of distance learning and working from home, the company said, adding that it expects the pandemic to continue affecting shipments this month.
COMPUTERS
Acer revenue edges up 2%
PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday reported that revenue last month edged up 2.2 percent year-on-year to NT$24.07 billion. The company attributed the increase to a rapid resumption of production in China following lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus, as well as a surge in consumer demand for PCs as people increasingly worked and studied from home. The company’s first-quarter sales fell 10.7 percent year-on-year to NT$48.85 billion. Acer said that it would continue to improve and broaden its business portfolio to weather volatile market conditions.
NOTEBOOKS
Compal sales decline 6%
Contract laptop computer maker Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) yesterday reported that sales last month fell 6.22 percent year-on-year to NT$80.77 billion. Its consolidated revenue last quarter declined 31.95 percent quarter-on-quarter and 13.56 percent year-on-year to NT$182.05 billion, in line with company expectations. Compal said that it shipped 3.7 million laptop units last month, up from 1.6 million units in February as production resumed in China. Shipments last quarter fell 16.1 percent to 7.8 million units from a year earlier, company data showed.
PANEL MAKERS
Virus boosts Innolux sales
LCD panel maker Innolux Corp (群創) reported that revenue last month increased 39.2 percent to NT$19.68 billion from NT$14.13 billion in February. The company attributed the increase to 48.6 percent sequential growth in shipments of TV and computer panels. Innolux’s consolidated revenue in the first quarter increased 15.9 percent year-on-year to NT$50.4 billion. That represented a quarterly contraction of 23.2 percent. Shipments of TV and PC panels fell 22.5 percent to 25.26 million units, worse than the company’s forecast of a high double-digit percentage decline. Separately, rival AU Optronics Corp (友達) reported that revenue last month increased 16 percent, from NT$17.69 billion in February, thanks to a more than 15 percent quarterly increase in shipments of PC and TV panels. The company’s consolidated revenue last quarter fell 19.5 percent year-on-year to NT$53.69 billion.
APPAREL
Quang Viet profit falls 33%
Quang Viet Enterprise Co (廣越), which makes down jackets and garments for brands such as Adidas AG, yesterday said that changes in its product mix led to revenue last month falling 32.66 percent to NT$582.64 million from NT$865.28 million a year earlier. The firm’s consolidated revenue last quarter fell 22 percent to NT$1.84 billion from NT$2.37 billion a year earlier. The firm projected that its annual revenue would fall 10 percent from last year due to the pandemic and foreign-exchange losses.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
NEXT GENERATION: The new 3-nanometer chip has 28 percent more transistors and offers up to 80 percent faster language model performance than its predecessor MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Wednesday launched a new flagship smartphone chip, Dimensity 9400, made with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) enhanced 3-nanometer technology, aiming to bring more artificial intelligence (AI) applications to edge devices like phones. The Dimensity 9400 is the second smartphone chip using TSMC’s second-generation 3-nanometer technology, after Apple Inc’s A18 Pro chip for the new iPhone 16 series. The new mobile chip has 28 percent more transistors, offers up to 80 percent faster large language model performance and is up to 35 percent more power-efficient than its predecessor, Dimensity 9300, MediaTek said. Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi Corp (小米),
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