Advantech Co Ltd (研華), the world’s largest industrial computer manufacturer, yesterday said that it is expecting to be “a little off” this quarter, as customers are being cautious about placing orders.
Using an exchange rate of NT$29 per US dollar, the company forecast that fourth quarter revenue would be US$420 million to US$440 million, a contraction of 5.4 to 9.7 percent from a year earlier or a decline of 2.2 percent to 6.7 percent from the previous quarter.
Gross margin would be between 38 percent and 40 percent, and operating margin would be between 16 percent and 18 percent, the company said.
“When we look at orders from July to September, it appears the fourth quarter is going to be a little off,” Advantech spokesperson Jill Su (蘇智蘋) told an earnings conference in Taipei. “It is hard for us to give a more aggressive guidance amid the COVID-19 situation.”
Advantech chief financial officer Eric Chen (陳清熙) described customers as having a “conservative view” toward this quarter.
“Most customers are delaying their schedule for order shipments,” Chen said. “The overall momentum in the fourth quarter will come in lower than the third quarter.”
Su also said that the strong New Taiwan dollar has not helped Advantech.
“The rise of the New Taiwan dollar was obviously a negative factor. We might have been off by 3 to 4 percent, instead of 5 or more,” he said.
The company reported net income of NT$1.94 billion (US$66.88 million) for last quarter, down 9.1 percent from a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT$2.52, while third-quarter revenue fell 9.3 percent to NT$13.05 billion.
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