Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday reported 39 percent quarterly growth in net profit for last quarter after the PC vendor reached its 4-percent operating profit target ahead of its schedule, thanks to stringent cost control and improved operational efficiency.
Operating margin rose to 4.1 percent during the quarter ending March 31, compared with 2.1 percent in the previous quarter and minus-3.6 percent a year earlier, Asustek said.
This was the highest in eight quarters, Asustek added.
Photo courtesy of Asustek Photo courtesy of Asustek Computer Inc via CNA
The company aimed to lift its operating margin to 4 percent by the end of this year, Asustek said in March.
“We have worked hard to optimize several financial metrics including revenue, cost and expense, and are glad to see operating margin hit the 4 percent level earlier than expected,” Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told a virtual investors’ conference yesterday.
The firm expects its operating margin to stay at 4 percent this quarter and looks at further improvement in the second half of the year, aided by new product launches, Wu said.
Asustek’s net profit last quarter surged to NT$5.45 billion (US$168.2 million), compared with NT$3.93 billion in the previous quarter and reversing a loss of NT$1.68 billion the previous year.
Earnings per share were NT$7.3, up from NT$5.3 the previous quarter.
The firm had posted losses per share of NT$2.3 a year earlier.
This quarter’s PC revenue is expected to grow 10 percent to 15 percent from last quarter’s, Wu said.
Last quarter, PC and smartphone revenue increased 5 percent amid sluggish demand, although channel inventory returned to a healthy level, he said.
The company expects component revenue this quarter to be flat, he said.
Asustek said it is confident about its business outlook, as the company plans to launch a series of artificial intelligence (AI) PCs later this month.
AI PCs are expected to make up at least 50 percent of the global PC market in 2026, a rapid uptake from just several million units shipped this year, the company said.
“We are optimistic about this AI revolution and believe AI PCs will fuel the next wave of growth for the industry and Asustek as well,” Asustek cochief executive officer S.Y. Hsu (許先越) said yesterday.
Another growth driver is AI servers, which would see multiple revenue growth from the same period last year, Asustek said.
The company is an ecosystem partner of Nvidia Corp for its new AI GPU GB200.
AI servers accounted for 70 to 80 percent of Asustek’s total server shipments, but servers made up less than 10 percent of the company’s overall revenue, Asustek added.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
‘LASER-FOCUSED’: Trump pledged tariffs on specific sectors, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, steel, copper and aluminum, and perhaps even cars US President Donald Trump said he wants to enact across-the-board tariffs that are “much bigger” than 2.5 percent, the latest in a string of signals that he is preparing widespread levies to reshape US supply chains. “I have it in my mind what it’s going to be but I won’t be setting it yet, but it’ll be enough to protect our country,” Trump told reporters on Monday night. Asked about a report that incoming US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent favored starting with a global rate of 2.5 percent, Trump said he did not think Bessent supported that and would not
RSS