Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) last week reported strong sales for last month thanks to demand for notebook computers spurred by teleworking and distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The companies’ operations have continued to improve since last year, as the pandemic has resulted in lifestyle changes, with remote and video communication becoming essential and prompting companies to speed up digital transformation, while PCs have become an indispensable tool in people’s daily lives.
Acer’s consolidated sales reached NT$24.81 billion (US$897.9 million), up 22.9 percent year-on-year, but down 0.6 percent month-on-month, the company said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that last month’s figure was the highest for the period in seven years.
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The company attributed the annual increase to Chromebooks for distance learning, whose sales increased 30.1 percent year-on-year, and gaming products for home-bound consumers, which posted an annual sales increase of 15.3 percent.
For the first five months of this year, sales totaled NT$121.31 billion, up 36.6 percent from a year earlier, Acer said.
As orders for PCs have continued to exceed its supply, Acer said it would work closely with supply chains, as component supply remains a key factor to its shipments this year.
Asustek’s sales increased 40.36 percent year-on-year and 5.7 percent month-on-month to NT$38.58 billion last month, the highest May sales figure in the company’s history, it reported on Wednesday.
Cumulative sales in the first five months reached NT$183.19 billion, up 66.16 percent from a year earlier and also the highest for the same period, it said.
The companies’ sales were also boosted by a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert announced on May 19, which has led to strong pandemic-related demand, especially for notebook computers and Chromebooks, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) analyst Calvin Wei (魏建發) wrote in a note on Thursday.
“Asustek and Acer are the major beneficiaries of the strong work-from-home demand, given Asustek’s higher sales exposure to notebook computer business versus its peers, and Acer’s sales contribution of 10-15 percent comes from the domestic market,” Wei wrote.
Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星科技) also posted record-high sales of NT$15.67 billion for last month, up 43.2 percent year-on-year and 4 percent month-on-month, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
MSI’s sales in the first five months grew 57.3 percent year-on-year to NT$78.76 billion, it said.
“With more than 60 percent sales contribution from gaming products, MSI has been the major beneficiary of the gaming uptrend,” Wei said.
However, the company has benefited mildly from the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan, given its sales exposure of only 2 to 3 percent to the domestic market, he said.
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