PC vendor Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) will continue to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled products and services this year, including PCs, servers, edge AI and artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) applications, the company’s annual shareholders’ report released on Sunday showed.
The rapid development of AI and an uncertain global environment are paving the way for major innovations, offering the company an opportunity to demonstrate its strengths, Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) said in the report.
“The faster the world changes, the bigger progress Asustek will make next year,” he said.
Photo: Vanessa Cho, Taipei Times
As the value and impact of personal computing products grow, the sector is poised for healthy market expansion, Shih said.
In this environment, upgrading products and launching strategic projects are crucial, with AI products and their applications driving innovation and market growth, he said.
Compared with its pursuit of product differentiation and competitive advantage through “incremental innovation” in the past, the company aims to achieve “radical innovation” to further enhance its competitiveness, as the market and technological advancements accelerate, he added.
Apart from expanding the company’s AI product lineups, Asustek will also focus on high-end products for high added-value users to enhance the user experience and the company’s brand value, Shih said.
In the enterprise market, Asustek would strengthen its regional deployment, and deepen its presence in commercial markets and channels in key countries, he said.
The company will also work with key platform manufacturers to jointly develop AI-driven products and applications to accelerate industry innovation and evolution, he added.
Asustek reported a 22 percent annual growth in consolidated revenue to NT$587.1 billion (US$18.08 billion) last year, the second-highest in the company’s history, and net profit rose 97 percent to NT$31.4 billion, or earnings per share of NT$42, the report said.
Last year, the company achieved key strategic goals, including maintaining its leading position in the PC market, strengthening its status as a top gaming notebook brand, achieving early growth in the server business and continuing development of its Open Platform framework to support product innovation, Shih said.
In the first quarter of this year, revenue increased 21.36 percent from a year earlier to NT$147.7 billion, company data showed.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS