Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s third-largest personal computer supplier, yesterday said revenues may pick up in September, supported by back-to-school demand and replacement demand following the launch of PCs running Microsoft Corp’s new Windows 7 system and new low-power computers.
That would make the third quarter a better period than the second quarter, company chairman Wang Jeng-tang (王振堂) told reporters on the sidelines of the Taipei-based company’s annual shareholders’ meeting.
“Back-to-school demand is there, but the strength will not be as strong as it used to be,” Wang said, citing unfavorable macroeconomic conditions. “The US and European economies are still at their lows. China, which seems to be recovering, is the only bright spot.”
“People are not going to see a surge in July and August,” said Wang, commenting on Acer’s revenue trend in the third quarter. “They are more likely to see an apparent upturn in September.”
The commercial release of Microsoft’s Windows 7 in the fall and PCs equipped with Intel Corp’s ultra-low-voltage microprocessors would also help boost Acer’s computer sales, he said.
Despite uncertainty about a recovery from the global economic downturn, Wang said he still believed Acer’s notebook computer shipments would grow by between 30 percent and 40 percent sequentially in the second half of the year.
Acer did not provide shipment numbers for the first six months of the year.
Wang said Acer was also open to new merger and acquisition opportunities, as it expected more active M&A discussions during the downcycle.
However, the PC company would be very selective as it has reached economies of scale after acquiring US PC company Gateway and Paris-based Packard Bell in 2007.
Wang said Acer was a “cash-rich” company, adding that it was company policy to keep cash at a healthy level of between NT$20 billion (US$608 million) and NT$30 billion.
Acer’s shareholders yesterday approved a proposal to distribute dividends of NT$2 per common share in cash and 0.1 percent in stock, based on last year’s net profit of NT$11.74 billion, or NT$4.72 per share. Shareholders had earlier rejected a proposal to boost cash dividends by more than 12 percent.
Rival Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), the world’s biggest contract laptop maker, is more optimistic about the second half of this year.
Company president C.C. Leung (梁次震) told reporters that shipments in the second half would account for 60 percent of its total notebook shipments this year. That would represent growth of 50 percent from the first half.
Quanta said it aimed to keep notebook shipments this year steady at around 36.5 million units as it did last year.
Acer shares edged up 0.17 percent to NT$58.10, underperforming the benchmark TAIEX, which gained 1.41 percent yesterday.
FOPLP PLANS? The chipmaker said the budget was for fab construction and manufacturing facilities, but did not comment on reports of talks with Innolux Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) board of directors yesterday approved capital appropriations of US$29.62 billion to install and upgrade the firm’s chip manufacturing process technologies, as well as its advanced and mature packaging technology capacity. The capital expenditure budget would also be for fab construction and installation of manufacturing facilities, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said in a statement. TSMC did not comment on reports that it was in talks with flat-panel display maker Innolux Corp (群創) to acquire an idle plant as it prepares to convert manufacturing equipment into a new chip packaging production line that is to use fan-out
A boom: The airlines saw a rise in international flights and demand for cargo services, with the latter attributed to AI needs and vendors opting to have items delivered by air China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have reported their highest-ever net profit for the first half of the year amid a boom in international travel and growing demand for cargo services. The global airline industry’s momentum from last year extended into the first six months of this year. That momentum along with an increase in the number of flights supported passenger revenue growth, the two airlines said on Friday. CAL’s net profit in the first six months of this year hit a new high of NT$7.14 billion (US$220 million), resulting in earnings per share of NT$1.08, the airline
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), yesterday said it has signed an agreement with Innolux Corp (群創) to acquire the flat-panel display maker’s plant in Tainan for NT$17.14 billion (US$530.6 million) amid supply constraints of its advanced packaging capacity constraints. TSMC plans to use the plant, including buildings and manufacturing facilities, for future operations, the world’s biggest foundry service provider said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The chipmaker did not elaborate on whether it would convert the plant into a new panel-level packaging factory, or expand its advanced packaging chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) capacity. The chipmaker "is working whatever it
The world’s biggest steel producer sounded the alarm about a crisis in China that carries the potential to send global shock waves, warning of a deeper industry downturn than major events in 2008 and 2015. Conditions in China are like a “harsh winter” that would be “longer, colder and more difficult to endure than we expected,” China Baowu Steel Group Corp (寶武鋼鐵集團) chairman Hu Wangming (胡望明) told staff at the company’s half-year meeting. For commodities including steel, the warning from Baowu underscores risks to demand and prices, as well as what ArcelorMittal SA, the No. 2 firm in the industry, called an