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.
Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights. Airlines are not waiting for a lack of supplies to react. “Travel alert: Airlines are cutting thousands of flights right now,” Travel Therapy host Karen Schaler said in an Instagram reel this past weekend.
MANAGING RISKS: Taiwan has secured LNG sufficient to cover 95 percent of electricity demand for next month, UBS said, describing the government’s approach as proactive UBS Group AG has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent previously, and said expansion could reach as high as 8.6 percent if external energy shocks are avoided. The upgrade reflects a stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance and sustained momentum in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exports, which UBS said are providing a firm foundation for growth despite geopolitical and energy risks. Taiwan’s GDP expanded 13.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 1987, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Thursday. On a seasonally
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s business ecosystem. Just in the past week, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), as well as China’s Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co (德賽西威) and Pateo Connect Technology Shanghai Corp (博泰車聯) have become the latest to rally on news of tie-ups, supply-chain participation or product collaboration with the US chip designer. Asian suppliers account for about 90 percent of Nvidia’s production costs, up from about 65 percent last year, data compiled
RSS