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作者： Reuters
责任编辑： 阚智
来源： 《电脑商情报》
时间： 2006-10-24 01:57
Compal, the world's No.2 contract laptop maker, posted a 2.1 percent fall in quarterly profit on Monday as stiff competition hurt profit margins, but said computer demand will be strong in the fourth quarter.
Third-quarter profits missed market expectations but Compal Electronics Inc. forecast fourth-quarter shipments will rise 18 percent from the third quarter, despite shortages of some key components affecting its output.
"Demand in the fourth quarter is hot, but component shortages, especially for batteries, will affect our output this quarter," Compal President Ray Chen told an investor conference.
Besides batteries, Chen saw shortages of memory DRAM chips and central processing units (CPUs) by Advanced Micro Devices in the computer industry.
Chen added Compal could not fill orders for 100,000-plus units due to battery shortages, and revised down fourth-quarter shipments to 4.6 million. It had previously forecast 4.8 million to 5 million units.
Compal earned net profit of T$2.277 billion ($69 million) for July-September, lower than T$2.326 billion a year earlier, and lagging a mean forecast for T$2.75 billion from analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.
"The results were in line and shortages are not a bad thing, because then the industry won't oversupply into Q1 of next year," said Merrill Lynch analyst Tony Tseng, who rates Compal at "neutral".
Compal earned T$1.689 billion in the second quarter.
Compal's laptop shipments hit a record 3.9 million units in the third quarter, up 41 percent from the second quarter, and it sees global laptop output reaching 90 million units this year.
The firm also says its own laptop shipments should reach 14 million in 2006, and is targeting shipping 18-18.5 million notebooks in 2007.
"I think 2007 will be a strong year," said Chen.
DIVERSIFICATION
Compal, valued at $3.4 billion and a supplier to Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., competes with sector leader Quanta Computer Inc. The two Taiwanese firms produce around 40 percent of the world's notebook computers.
But Compal's gross margin remained thin and fell to 4.6 percent in the third quarter from 6.1 percent in the year-ago period and similar to 4.7 percent in the second quarter.
Since notebook computers still account for 90 percent of Compal's profits, the firm has been diversifying to other products such as making mobile phones under its subsidiary Compal Communications Inc. .
Analysts said the firm's jump into cellphones has been beneficial as they secure clients like Motorola, but other investments such as its display arm Toppoly Optoelectronics Corp., which took over Philips' Mobile Display Systems (MDS), is still loss-making.
"We are faced with continued price erosion and higher costs (for Toppoly) but hope it will be under control by Q1 next year," said Compal's Chen.
Compal also said it will further expand into the wireless networking, ADSL and voice-over-IP business after it completes its acquisition of an Accton Technology subsidiary, Arcadyan Technology Corp.
"We will also speed up merger and acquisition movement next year to grow our firm, investing in companies in the automotive electronics industry," said Chen.
Compal reported its results after the Taipei market closed on Monday, when its shares ended 1.56 percent higher at T$29.35. Taiwan's main TAIEX was mostly flat.
Shares in Compal declined 2.4 percent in the third quarter, while Quanta dropped 6.7 percent, lagging a 2.7 percent gain in the main board.
"It's unavoidable that margins will keep falling for notebooks, so we are really trying to diversify," said Chen.
Quanta's results are due by the end of this month.
Third-quarter profits missed market expectations but Compal Electronics Inc. forecast fourth-quarter shipments will rise 18 percent from the third quarter, despite shortages of some key components affecting its output.
"Demand in the fourth quarter is hot, but component shortages, especially for batteries, will affect our output this quarter," Compal President Ray Chen told an investor conference.
Besides batteries, Chen saw shortages of memory DRAM chips and central processing units (CPUs) by Advanced Micro Devices in the computer industry.
Chen added Compal could not fill orders for 100,000-plus units due to battery shortages, and revised down fourth-quarter shipments to 4.6 million. It had previously forecast 4.8 million to 5 million units.
Compal earned net profit of T$2.277 billion ($69 million) for July-September, lower than T$2.326 billion a year earlier, and lagging a mean forecast for T$2.75 billion from analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.
"The results were in line and shortages are not a bad thing, because then the industry won't oversupply into Q1 of next year," said Merrill Lynch analyst Tony Tseng, who rates Compal at "neutral".
Compal earned T$1.689 billion in the second quarter.
Compal's laptop shipments hit a record 3.9 million units in the third quarter, up 41 percent from the second quarter, and it sees global laptop output reaching 90 million units this year.
The firm also says its own laptop shipments should reach 14 million in 2006, and is targeting shipping 18-18.5 million notebooks in 2007.
"I think 2007 will be a strong year," said Chen.
DIVERSIFICATION
Compal, valued at $3.4 billion and a supplier to Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., competes with sector leader Quanta Computer Inc. The two Taiwanese firms produce around 40 percent of the world's notebook computers.
But Compal's gross margin remained thin and fell to 4.6 percent in the third quarter from 6.1 percent in the year-ago period and similar to 4.7 percent in the second quarter.
Since notebook computers still account for 90 percent of Compal's profits, the firm has been diversifying to other products such as making mobile phones under its subsidiary Compal Communications Inc. .
Analysts said the firm's jump into cellphones has been beneficial as they secure clients like Motorola, but other investments such as its display arm Toppoly Optoelectronics Corp., which took over Philips' Mobile Display Systems (MDS), is still loss-making.
"We are faced with continued price erosion and higher costs (for Toppoly) but hope it will be under control by Q1 next year," said Compal's Chen.
Compal also said it will further expand into the wireless networking, ADSL and voice-over-IP business after it completes its acquisition of an Accton Technology subsidiary, Arcadyan Technology Corp.
"We will also speed up merger and acquisition movement next year to grow our firm, investing in companies in the automotive electronics industry," said Chen.
Compal reported its results after the Taipei market closed on Monday, when its shares ended 1.56 percent higher at T$29.35. Taiwan's main TAIEX was mostly flat.
Shares in Compal declined 2.4 percent in the third quarter, while Quanta dropped 6.7 percent, lagging a 2.7 percent gain in the main board.
"It's unavoidable that margins will keep falling for notebooks, so we are really trying to diversify," said Chen.
Quanta's results are due by the end of this month.
