Contract electronics manufacturer Inventec Corp (英業達) yesterday forecast revenue would continue to grow next year, saying that sales of notebook computers, servers and smart devices are expected to surpass this year’s levels.
The company expects its notebook computer sales to increase by a single-digit percentage next year, driven by replacement demand following Microsoft Corp’s end of service for its Windows 10 operating system, while revenue contribution from artificial intelligence (AI) PCs is also expected to materialize, Inventec president Jack Tsai (蔡枝安) told an earnings conference in Taipei.
Inventec also aims to grow its server sales by a double-digit percentage, while smart device business is expected to expand by a single-digit percentage next year, Tsai said.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
Notebook computers accounted for 51 to 55 percent of Inventec’s revenue in the third quarter, followed by servers at 41 to 45 percent and smart devices at 1 to 5 percent, the company said.
Shipments of AI servers have increased 40 percent from last year’s level and account for 40 to 50 percent of total server revenue, Tsai said.
Inventec is a major assembly partner of the so-called “level 6” and “level 10” servers for Dell Technologies Inc, HP Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想).
Most servers shipped by Inventec this quarter are those running on Nvidia Corp’s B200 HGX chips, Tsai said.
Next year, shipments of AI servers — including those equipped with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc chips, as well as other models powered by application-specific integrated circuits — are expected to continue growing and account for more than 50 percent of the company’s server revenue, he said.
Inventec’s notebook computer and server shipments this quarter are likely to edge down from last quarter and return to levels seen in the first quarter, as customers pulled in orders earlier in the year amid tariff uncertainties, Tsai said.
The company reported that third-quarter net profit soared 24.65 percent from the previous quarter to NT$2.73 billion (US$87.92 million), and climbed 36.7 percent year-on-year.
Earnings per share increased to NT$0.76 from NT$0.61 from the prior quarter and from NT$0.56 the previous year, it said.
Revenue last quarter decreased 5.6 percent quarterly, but climbed 7.57 percent annually to NT$176.29 billion, a record for the period.
Gross margin fell to 5 percent from 5.1 percent last quarter and 5.3 percent a year earlier, but the figure is likely to improve to above 5 percent this quarter, Inventec chief financial officer Yu Chin-pao (游進寶) said.
Inventec reported net profit of NT$6.62 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 35.22 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$1.85 over the period.
Cumulative revenue in the first three quarters increased 15.92 percent to NT$519.9 billion, while gross margin rose 1 percentage point to 5.3 percent.
Capital expenditure this year is expected to range between US$400 million and US$450 million, mainly due to expansion in Thailand and the US, and up to NT$500 million next year, Yu said.
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