Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) last week reported strong sales for last month thanks to demand for notebook computers spurred by teleworking and distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The companies’ operations have continued to improve since last year, as the pandemic has resulted in lifestyle changes, with remote and video communication becoming essential and prompting companies to speed up digital transformation, while PCs have become an indispensable tool in people’s daily lives.
Acer’s consolidated sales reached NT$24.81 billion (US$897.9 million), up 22.9 percent year-on-year, but down 0.6 percent month-on-month, the company said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that last month’s figure was the highest for the period in seven years.
Photo: CNA
The company attributed the annual increase to Chromebooks for distance learning, whose sales increased 30.1 percent year-on-year, and gaming products for home-bound consumers, which posted an annual sales increase of 15.3 percent.
For the first five months of this year, sales totaled NT$121.31 billion, up 36.6 percent from a year earlier, Acer said.
As orders for PCs have continued to exceed its supply, Acer said it would work closely with supply chains, as component supply remains a key factor to its shipments this year.
Asustek’s sales increased 40.36 percent year-on-year and 5.7 percent month-on-month to NT$38.58 billion last month, the highest May sales figure in the company’s history, it reported on Wednesday.
Cumulative sales in the first five months reached NT$183.19 billion, up 66.16 percent from a year earlier and also the highest for the same period, it said.
The companies’ sales were also boosted by a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert announced on May 19, which has led to strong pandemic-related demand, especially for notebook computers and Chromebooks, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) analyst Calvin Wei (魏建發) wrote in a note on Thursday.
“Asustek and Acer are the major beneficiaries of the strong work-from-home demand, given Asustek’s higher sales exposure to notebook computer business versus its peers, and Acer’s sales contribution of 10-15 percent comes from the domestic market,” Wei wrote.
Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星科技) also posted record-high sales of NT$15.67 billion for last month, up 43.2 percent year-on-year and 4 percent month-on-month, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
MSI’s sales in the first five months grew 57.3 percent year-on-year to NT$78.76 billion, it said.
“With more than 60 percent sales contribution from gaming products, MSI has been the major beneficiary of the gaming uptrend,” Wei said.
However, the company has benefited mildly from the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan, given its sales exposure of only 2 to 3 percent to the domestic market, he said.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
In a patch of South America rich in lithium, used to make batteries for electric cars and other tech, Bolivia is lagging its neighbors in the race to mine the key metal. An area called the “lithium triangle” which spills over the borders of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina is home to 60 percent of the world’s lithium reserves, according to the US Geological Survey. Bolivia claims to have Earth’s largest deposit of the metal, used to make rechargeable batteries for smartphones, laptops and other devices besides e-vehicles. However, Bolivia has undertaken only four pilot projects and is running just one
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
RSS