Acer's 3Q Net Profit Plummets 63 Percent
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Acer Inc., the world's fifth-largest computer company, said Friday its third-quarter net profit fell 63 percent from the same period last year in part because of investment losses from affiliates.
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The phone provider reported a 14.6 percent drop in third-quarter profit on flat revenue and a continued loss of local access lines.
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(InfoWorld) - The chairman and CEO of Acer Inc. has vowed to step down if the company's bid to join with Gateway Inc. does not succeed. "The merger will definitely succeed. If it doesn't ... I will resign," the Chinese-language newspaper, Economic Daily News, quoted Acer Chairman and CEO J.T. Wang as saying in an interview published Wednesday. Acer spokesman Henry Wang confirmed the statement. The statement came amidÂ growing criticism of the acquisition, which the companies' boards have approved. Industry watchers and stock market analysts have called the US$710 million purchase too expensive, saying Acer should have foregone the deal and continued to grow its U.S. business from the ground up. The company's U.S. sales have grown at over 100 percent for the past few years, according to Acer. Other analysts fear Acer may have trouble bringing Gateway into its fold because it may ultimately become a three-in-one deal, including Gateway subsidiary eMachines and Europe's Packard Bell BV. That may be too many companies to absorb in one go, analysts say. "The premium paid to Gateway may be too high, and the execution risk of multiple-brand strategy is clearly the key here," said Vincent Chen, PC industry analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Taipei. Taiwanese investors don't like the deal, either.. Acer's shares have fallen by their daily market limit, 6.9 percent, for each of the past two days to close at NT$55.1 (US$1.67) Wednesday on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Acer agreed on Monday to buy Gateway in an all-cash deal for US$1.90 per share, a 57 percent premium on its closing share price of US$1.21 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. Acer said the deal will transform it into a much larger company with US$15 billion per year in revenue and shipments of nearly 20 million PCs, giving it a solid base in the important U.S. market. The companyÂ plans to market multiple PC brands worldwideÂ after the transaction, thereby increasing sales. The deal will also help it cut costs. Size is vital to gaining volume discounts from parts suppliers, Acer said. The purchase still faces regulatory and shareholder approval. Â
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The struggling home furnishings retailer posts a 37% drop in Q3 earnings and cuts guidance.
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Revenue was up, but discounting the impact of recent acquisitions and other factors, CA's net income was $50 million, down 14% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2006.
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Profit fell 94 percent in the third quarter as sales fell in the companyâs cell phone business, but it forecast better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
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Taiwan's AU Optronics, the world's third biggest flat-panel maker, has reported a net profit of 9.1 billion dollars for 2006, down nearly 42 percent, on the back of declining prices.
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The company has signalled profits of between Â£285 million and Â£295 million, down on Â£311 million a year ago, following a poor run of sales.
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Acer has passed Lenovo Group as the world&#39;s third largest PC vendor with its&#160;purchase of Gateway, and now it&#39;s&#160;gunning for U.S. giant Dell.Next year, Acer could take up to a 12 percent share of the global PC market, putting it in the position to challenge Dell, said J.T. Wang, chairman of Acer, at the company&#39;s third-quarter investors&#39; conference in Taipei on Friday.Shipments by Acer have been growing fast this year due in part to a focus on laptop PCs, the hottest segment of the PC market, and the company&#39;s strategy of working closely with distributors.Acer&#39;s shipments grew 58 percent year over year in the third quarter, according to Gartner. The Taiwanese PC vendor accounted for 8.1 percent of global PC shipments during the quarter, compared to its 5.9 percent share during the same time last year. The figures do not include Gateway, which&#160;Acer bought&#160;for $710 million last week.Dell&#39;s unit shipments grew 3.5 percent during the quarter, but it still lost market share compared to last year, finishing in second place at 14.4 percent compared to 15.9 percent.Hewlett-Packard kept its title of the world&#39;s biggest PC vendor by shipments during the quarter with an 18.8 percent share, compared to a 16.1 percent share a year earlier. Lenovo, the fourth place vendor, took an 8 percent share, compared to 7.5 percent last year. Market researcher IDC puts&#160;Lenovo ahead of Acer&#160;according to its third-quarter PC shipment figures.&quot;We believe we can maintain strong growth momentum through 2008,&quot; said Wang.Acer forecasts it will still grow by a double-digit figure next year, and faster than the global PC industry. Executives also said the fourth quarter of this year looks to be a good quarter, with no indication of a decrease in demand for PCs.&quot;We have not seen any slowdown. Demand is still quite good,&quot; said Gianfranco Lanci, president of Acer. He forecast unit shipments to grow 10 percent to 20 percent over the third quarter. The company did not say how many PCs it sold in the third quarter, but Gartner puts the figure at nearly 5.55 million units.In the fourth quarter, Acer will also start adding Gateway shipments to its figures, which will add to its market share.Gateway sold only 865,000 PCs in its biggest market, the U.S., during the third quarter, down from 1.01 million the same time last year, according to Gartner. Lanci believes a stronger laptop PC lineup will boost Gateway&#39;s market share figures in the U.S. going forward because the mobile PC is the hottest segment in the industry. New Gateway laptops could be out as early as the first quarter of next year.And Dell isn&#39;t sitting still. Efforts to turn around its business finally paid off this quarter when its worldwide unit shipments rose for the first time in four quarters. It&#39;s a huge company with a lot of resources and could still turn itself around. Acer&#39;s executives said size was becoming ever more important in the global battle for PC market share because bigger companies can force suppliers to cut their prices. That means Dell, as the second biggest PC maker, is still in a strong position.REFERENCES:Wall Street Beat: Acer masters the Art of War, Aug. 31, 2007Acer completes Gateway acquisition, Oct. 17, 2007Acer to acquire Gateway for $710 million, Aug. 27, 2007Gateway brand to expand after Acer purchase, Aug. 27, 2007
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Alcatel-Lucent SA fell nearly 9 percent Thursday after the telecommunications equipment maker slashed its full-year revenue growth forecast and said it expects third-quarter operating profit to be "around break-even."
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Taiwan's top computer vendor Acer Inc  , battling China's Lenovo for the title of the world's  third-largest PC maker, posted a better-than-expected 58  percent rise in quarterly profit thanks to strong laptop demand  from emerging and mature markets.
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TAIPEI/SHANGHAI  - Taiwan's Acer  will  buy Gateway  for $710 million, creating the world's No.  3 PC maker and doubling its U.S. presence while dealing a blow  to arch-foe Lenovo's  efforts to grow in Europe.
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Shares in telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA fell Thursday to their lowest level after the company slashed its forecast for full-year revenue growth in its third profit warning since the start of the year
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Advanced Micro Devices said that it lost $600 million or $1.09 per share, for the three months ended June 30.
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The British news and financial information group Reuters said on Thursday that net profits sank by a third in 2006.
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SEOUL : South Korea&#39;s Samsung Electronics Friday posted weaker-than-expected results for the third quarter as low product prices, coupled with higher promotion costs, undermined its bottom line.
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ACER Computer NZ posted a 32 per cent rise in sales in the year to December, expanding revenue to $81.2 million. Its net profit for the year was slightly down at $2.3 million.