Asus’ NB Shipments to Grow 10% in 2013

Taipei, Dec.27, 2012 (CENS)--Taiwan’s two leading NB makers Acer Inc. and ASUSTek Computer Inc. (Asus brand) forecast mixed performance, as Acer is not likely to reach its goal of NB shipments in 2013 of 26 million units due to unexpected low demand for Windows 8 products; on the contrary, Asus is estimated to see NB shipments grow 10% to 24 million units thanks to diverse product mix.

Due to weak Windows 8 replacement effect, some NB makers are likely to reduce the goal of NB shipments in the end of fourth quarter. C.Z. Liang, vice chairman of Quanta Computer, recently revealed that the firm’s NB shipments in 2012 will fail to achieve the initial target of 5% growth.

Acer’s NB shipments in the fourth quarter reached about 6.2 million units, similar from the previous quarter. However, despite the Chinese New Year peak season in the first quarter of 2013, the firm’s NB shipments in the period are estimated to decline more than 10% year on year (YoY) to only 5.5 million units.

An industry source noted that Acer aims to ship 26 million NBs in 2013, which is almost the same as 2012 but may decline to 24~26 million units if sales of Ultrabook remains sluggish.

On the contrary, Asus sees strong growth, with shipments predicted to exceed 22 million units in 2012 and likely to easily surpass 24 million units in 2013. An industry source stated that Asus may tie Acer’s shipments in 2013.

Wistron Corp. remains the largest contract maker of Acer, accounting for 35% of Acer’s shipments. As Compal Electronics and Lenovo Group co-invest a joint-venture for contract manufacturing, Acer has shifted 33% of contract orders to Quanta.