Leading industrial PC maker Advantech Co Ltd (研華) yesterday gave an optimistic outlook for this year after posting record sales for last year.
“Facing the challenges of global high inflation and a macroeconomic downturn in 2022, our overall operations continuously outperformed,” Advantech chief financial officer and president of general management Eric Chen (陳清熙) said in a statement.
The company’s consolidated revenue totaled NT$68.75 billion (US$2.25 billion) last year, up 17.27 percent year-on-year and the highest in the company’s history, it said.
Photo: CNA
Advantech, the first regional industrial PC vendor dedicated to smart cities and Internet of Things (IoT), said North America, Europe and emerging markets marked the highest growth in sales last year, up 23 percent, 20 percent and 13 percent respectively from a year earlier.
Shipments to Europe last year stayed on track as some clients still experienced component shortages, despite demand being dragged by geopolitical tension, while sales in the US were in line with the company's expectations despite rising inflation.
“North America and Europe maintained strong order momentum, but the Chinese market registered a single-digit percentage decline from the previous year [amid lockdowns and slower demand] despite dealers’ inventory adjustments in the Chinese market having come to an end,” Chen said.
The company said two major business groups showed double-digit percentage growth in sales last year, with an annual increase of 45 percent in the applied computing group and a 19 percent rise in the service IoT group.
However, the industrial IoT group and the Advantech service plus group posted a slight drop compared with the previous year, it said.
While uncertainty still lies ahead due to the initial stage of China’s reopening after it abruptly dropped its COVID-19 restrictions last month, Chen said the company maintains a positive view this year, citing positive factors such as the global trends of energy transition and infrastructure upgrades.
Analysts said client order outlook for this year has become more conservative. Sectors like new energy, energy storage, environmental protection and medical care should see stronger growth this year, while consumer electronics sector is likely to see a decline, they said.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS