Hon Hai scored record high revenue of NT$37.12 B. in October

Taipei, Nov. 12, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co. Ltd. Registered revenue of NT$37.12 billion (US$ at US$1: NT$34) in October, up 58% from the same month last year and hitting a record high for the third consecutive month.

Hon Hai had accumulated revenue of NT$257.2 billion (US$7.56 billion) in the first three quarters, making it remain the largest private manufacturer in Taiwan in terms of revenue. Some institutional investors predicted that Hon Hai's annual revenue would surpass NT$300 billion (US$8.82 billion) this year, including over NT$100 billion (US$2.94 billion) in the fourth quarter.

Hon Hai reported revenue of NT$98.2 billion (US$2.89 billion) in the third quarter, a record quarterly high, and the figure is expected to further rise in the fourth quarter, a traditional peak season.

Hon Hai is currently the world's largest maker of connectors, barebone PCs, and game consoles. With increased contract orders from such big international computer brands as HP, Acer, Dell and Sony, Hon Hai's monthly revenue has been rising since August and has continuously hit record highs in the past three months.

As Hon Hai's accumulated revenue in the first 10 months has greatly outstripped its largest rival, Quanta Computer Inc., by NT$23.83 billion (US$00.88 million), many institutional investors predicted that the company would remain the No. 1 private manufacturer on the island this year.

Many investors attributed Hon Hai's high revenue growth in October to a strong demand from the personal computer market, in which consumers are buying new models to replace their older and slower ones. In addition, the investors said, Hon Hai has begun shipping complete computers to their major customers such as HP, Acer and Apple, which has also helped boost the firm's revenue.

Hon Hai is also actively expanding its deployment in cell phone production business, the investors added, and the company's new product line is expected to further nourish its revenue in the fourth quarter. Revenue from cell phone products, they added, is expected to become a surprisingly-strong major momentum to Hon Hai's revenue growth next year and become one of the most lucrative businesses of the company in the future following video game console production.

The investors said that the monthly shipment volume of Taiwan's top-two game console contract makers, Hon Hai and Asustek Computer Inc., is expected to exceed one million units or even reach 1.5 million units in the fourth-quarter peak season. Both Hon Hai and Asustek, the investors said, are expected to ship over 10 million game consoles, respectively, this year.

Hon Hai also posted an outstanding profitability among the top 10 information technology and electronics makers in Taiwan. In the first three quarters, Ho Hai registered accumulated earnings per share (EPS) of NT$6.47 (US$0.19), the highest among the top 10.