Asustek Computer sees ballooning shipment in second half

Asustek Computer Inc., Taiwan's leading computer maker, is experiencing a clear monthly rise in shipment in the second half of this year. In August the company's shipment of notebook personal computers (NB PC) broke 500,000 units, with such volume in September rising to 600,000. In the fourth quarter of the year, the company's shipment is expected to reach two million units, for a sharp projected growth of 25% from the preceding quarter.

Due to promising business climate in the second half, Asustek sees rising orders for both OEM and branded products, particularly the latter that have become increasingly popular in Europe. In the second quarter of this year, the company's branded computers in Europe advanced from 10th to the 9th ranking, with the sales in Europe for the full year likely to account for more than 60% of its total sales value.

Last year Asustek shipped some four million NB PCs, and this year the corresponding volume is very likely to jump to 5.8 million units for a sharp rise of 45%. The projected growth is attributable to the growing popularity of its in-house branded products.

A senior executive at the company disclosed that currently the average gross profit margin for OEM products is below 5% but for branded products around 18%-20%. In recent years, Asustek has been gradually gaining more profit from its branded products rather than from OEMs. In August alone, the company raked in NT$3 billion (US$90.91 million at US$1 = NT$33) in pretax profits, with earnings-per-share (EPS) of nearly NT$0.9 (US$0.027), with the figures likely to keep ballooning in the following months.

source & copyright: CENS