Acer 1998 Net Falls 33% to 5-Year Low as PC Competition Intense
Taipei, March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Acer Inc., one of the world's top 10 personal computer makers, said net profit last year was the lowest since 1993 because of intense competition in the U.S. market and a plunge in the price of memory chips made by its semiconductor unit.
Profit dropped 33 percent, in line with analyst expectations, to NT$2.49 billion ($75.5 million) from NT$3.74 billion in 1997. The previous low was NT$1.03 billion posted in 1993.
''We had a hard time fighting Dell Computer Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp. in the U.S.,'' said Henry Wang, a company spokesman. ''The fall of chips prices also widened the loss in our semiconductor unit.''
Weak demand from Asia and a supply glut drove semiconductor prices down as much as 70 percent last year, sending Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc. to a loss -- NT$5 billion -- for the second straight year.
Acer declared a dividend of 150 shares for every 1,000 held. Investors had expected only a 100 share payout.
The company said its prospects are improving, and March sales stand a good chance of reaching NT$12 billion, the best monthly total ever. February sales totaled NT$9.8 billion and the previous monthly best was NT$11 billion in November.
Acer expects to ship a record 160,000 notebook PCs this month, more than half to International Business Machines Corp. In February, it shipped 130,000 notebook PCs
''We're upbeat,'' Wang said. ''Things are going to get better and better for us this year.''
Acer jumped NT$1.30, or 3.0 percent to NT$44.60. It was the second most actively traded issue by value |
