Acer Inc yesterday revised downward its revenue growth to less than 40 percent, citing a weaker-than-expected impact from the release of Microsoft's Vista operating system.
"Our revenues will grow 30 percent to 40 percent compared to last year," company chairman Wang Jeng-tang (王振堂) told shareholders yesterday.
more time
He said that it would take more time before PC sales were stimulated by Vista, which was launched in January, because of software compatibility issues.
International Data Corp (IDC) vice president Bob O'Donnell said last month in Taipei that Vista had failed to live up to the hype that had excited the market, with a lukewarm reception especially from the commercial sector.
"The reality is that people are not buying PCs because of Vista; they buy because they need one," O'Donnell said.
remaining positive
Wang said he remained positive on prospects for the PC industry in the second half, but not as "over optimistic" as he had been earlier. Acer sales for the year would not grow by over 40 percent as he had previously projected, he said.
Acer's consolidated sales were up 16 percent from the previous year at NT$369.09 billion (US$11.15 billion) last year. Net income after tax surpassed the NT$10 billion mark for the first time at NT$10.22 billion.
The meeting yesterday approved the payment of a cash dividend of NT$3.85 and a 1.5 percent stock dividend for last year.
strengthen
Wang said that Acer will continue to drive to strengthen its presence in Europe, which is its largest market.
Hewlett-Packard Co's first-quarter notebook shipments to Europe reached 1.38 million units, a 53 percent growth year-on-year, and beat Acer's 1.23 million units to become the No. 1 brand in Europe, IDC said.
Wang said Acer is still growing in the region and will not let down its guard with regard to its competitors.
Acer shares rose 1.13 percent to end the day at NT$61.80 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
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