Geoff RE: CREAF.
Sorry for the late reply. New management has since replaced NG and CHAY, who made the decision to enter the CD-ROM biz. I have a lot more confidence in the new CEO.
And FWIW, I fully supply CREAF diversifying into other businesses. They need a way to grow their bottom line, and they aren't going to do it in sound cards! They are now using their experience in CD-ROMs to create a DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM (not for sale). They are manufacturing these very efficiently (turning a profit in only the first quarter of volume production on their 2nd generation DVD drive).
Their speaker business has the potential to be very profitable, since they are unmatched in price/performance. It is currently small, but once they ramp, will be a significant portion of their revenue.
New audio products are one of a kind. No one else can offer what CREAF does. Also, the chip technology used in making their new soundcard may very well be licenced by others.
Weak link of CREAF may be graphics accelerators. As we all know, pricing has been weak (take a look at SIII). However, CREAF is one of 2 companies offering one with a VOODOO II chipset, which is the newest and best. This should allow them to improve margins over last quarter.
Hope this helps,
Brian |
