UPDATE: Major Contract Notebook Makers Warn Of Weakening Demand
May 31 2012 - 12:35AM
Dow Jones News
TAIPEI (Dow Jones)--Major contract notebook personal computer
makers are warning of weakening demand and order cuts amid the
lingering uncertainty surrounding Europe's debt troubles, after
Wistron Corp. (3231.TW) said Thursday it was lowering its
second-quarter shipment forecast due to sluggish demand.
Wistron, which makes notebook computers for Dell Inc. (DELL),
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Lenovo Group Ltd. (0992.HK), and Acer
Inc. (2353.TW), is the first Taiwanese contract notebook PC maker
to cut its shipment forecast in the current quarter, as the
euro-zone debt crisis has hurt global stock markets and consumer
demand for goods such as computers.
The company said Thursday its shipments in the second quarter
will likely be flat or "down a little" from the first quarter,
compared with its previous forecast of flat to up around 5%.
The company added more than one of its clients had cut back
their orders in May, though it declined to name them.
An official from Wistron told Dow Jones Newswires the company
shipped 8.5 million notebook PCs in the first quarter, and another
2.5 million in April. It shipped 31.55 million notebook PCs in
2011.
The official said shipments in May were "weaker than expected,"
due mostly to an overall softening in demand and the slow rollout
of Intel Corp.'s (INTC) new Ivy Bridge processors.
The official added shipments may start to pick up again in June,
when new products running on Ivy Bridge chips are due to hit the
market. The company is sticking to its full-year forecast of a 20%
rise in shipments.
The situation has prompted Credit Suisse to say it has grown
more cautious about second-quarter PC demand and that it is now
factoring in delays and cancellations of orders.
The brokerage said computer vendors Acer and Asustek Computer
Inc. (2357.TW) are facing significant end-demand risk due to their
high exposure to Europe, with the region accounting for 35%-40% of
their revenue.
Acer and Asustek declined to comment on the impact of the
euro-zone crisis on their second-quarter forecasts.
Meanwhile, major contract notebook maker Quanta Computer Inc.
(2382.TW) said Thursday it will likely to hit the low end of its
5%-10% sequential growth forecast for second-quarter shipments,
citing a "larger-than-expected reduction in orders in May."
The world's largest contract maker of notebook personal
computers by shipments also said customers have become more
conservative and the uncertainty surrounding future orders has
increased.
Pegatron Corp. (4938.TW), which makes Apple Inc.'s (AAPL)
MacBook as well as notebook PCs for Asustek, said it is on track to
meet its 30%-35% sequential growth forecast for second-quarter
notebook shipments, though it has also started checking order
forecasts with its customers more frequently due to the growing
uncertainties over the global economy.
-By Lorraine Luk and Aries Poon, Dow Jones Newswires;
8862-25022557; lorraine.luk@dowjones.com