The launch of Microsoft Corp’s Windows 11 operating system is expected to trigger a “back to the office” wave of PC purchases once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) said yesterday.
“Microsoft usually tried to make its new operating systems compatible with existing computer hardware. However, the many new features of Windows 11 demand a certain threshold of hardware specifications. Therefore we can expect to see a wave of upgrades for machines as offices upgrade to Windows 11,” Asustek co-CEO S.Y. Hsu (許先越) told an online investors’ conference in Taipei.
Some analysts have warned of a decline in PC sales once a work-from-home trend due to the pandemic subsides.
Photo: CNA
However, Hsu said that Asustek expects consistently high PC sales next year.
“We don’t think next year will be worse than this year,” Hsu said. “There could be single-digit percentage changes in either direction.”
The company’s growth strategy in the PC market would be based on diversification, Hsu said.
“In the past, we primarily focused on the consumer market. Now we are cultivating the commercial and the distance learning markets,” he said.
Asustek’s Republic of Gamers series has sold well to performance-conscious gamers, he said, adding that another target group would be content creators.
Industry-wide components and raw material shortages have also affected Asustek, with component shortages of “20 to 30 percent” expected to last until the end of this year, Hsu said.
Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) said that the firm’s operational efficiency in the second quarter “surpassed expectations.”
“Despite the shortages, every single product line contributed to our growth,” Wu said.
Net profit was NT$11.37 billion (US$408.3 million), up 16 percent quarter-on-quarter and 114 percent year-on-year, or record earnings per share of NT$15.3, Wu said, attributing the increase partly to cryptocurrency earnings and foreign exchange rate gains.
However, Asustek reported investment losses of NT$880 million in subsidiary Askey Computer Corp (亞旭電腦), which makes high-end routers and networking equipment, Wu said.
“It was hard for Askey to transition to 5G amid the components shortage,” he said.
Asustek’s handset unit, which has posted losses for several years, broke even last quarter, Hsu said.
However, it is uncertain whether the unit would remain profitable, despite shipments being expected to increase to 1 million units per year from about 500,000 last year, he said.
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