Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星科技), a supplier of PCs and PC motherboards, yesterday said that global PC shipments would dip by as much as 20 percent this year as memorychip price surges dampen demand.
It is expected to be a challenging year for the PC industry and could be one of “the most difficult” periods since the company was established, MSI president Jeans Huang (黃金請) told an earnings conference in New Taipei City.
Huang said that severe memorychip shortages and tight supply of graphics processing units (GPU) were behind the lackluster outlook.
Photo: AP
DDR4 and DDR5 DRAM chip prices have risen sharply since the third quarter of last year, with DDR5 prices doubling, which has significantly affected the DIY motherboard market, Huang said.
MSI has secured component supplies through multiple channels, allowing it to quickly respond to market demand, he said.
The company also began strategically building up inventory last quarter and has gradually passed on cost increases to products to avoid sudden price hikes, he said.
MSI has matched the moves of local PC vendors to adjust PC retail prices, he said.
PC vendors have increased prices by 10 to 20 percent this month to reflect cost surges for memory chips and other components, he said.
Due to high demand for GPU-based artificial intelligence (AI) servers, supply of GPUs for gaming PCs is expected to be tight this year, as GPU giant Nvidia Corp is allocating more resources to AI servers, he said.
Gross margin is expected to improve this year from 11 percent last year, supported by higher average selling prices (ASP) and eased market competition, he said.
By revenue, the world PC market would remain stable or post a slight growth, supported by higher ASP and optimized product mix, Huang said.
Likewise, MSI aims to lower its share of shipments of entry-level models this year, down from more than 30 percent previously, he said.
That would help MSI’s revenue from PCs and other hardware to remain flat this year or grow slightly, he said.
System products contributed 42 percent to the company’s revenue last year, while motherboards and other components made up 50 percent, company data showed.
Server business is a different story, as MSI expects its server revenue to grow by 50 to 100 percent this year from a low base last year, as it would mainly focus on shipping Nvidia’s MGX platform, Huang said.
Servers accounted for a mid-single-digit percentage of the company’s total revenue, he said.
In addition to its manufacturing hub in China, the company started operating a new US factory earlier this year, Huang said.
More than half of its server production capacity is expected to be shifted to the US plant, he added.
The company is also expanding production capacity in Taoyuan and the Netherlands, he said.
Capacity expansion in the two locations is expected by the end of next year, he said.
MSI plans to produce AI servers and charging piles in Taoyuan, he added.
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
RSS