TAIPEI, Taiwan - PC maker Asus yesterday announced its second-quarter results, reporting after-tax revenues of NT$4.765 billion (S$202million), down 21 per cent quarter-on-quarter, on revenues of NT$89.66 billion, down 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter, while yielding earnings of NT$6.3 per share, down 21 per cent from the NT$8.04 seen in the previous quarter.
In the second quarter the company shipped 4.1 million notebook computer units and 2 million tablet computer units, down 12.7 per cent and 33 per cent respectively from the previous period. PC motherboard shipments maintained the 5-million-unit mark.
Profit margins declined slightly to 13.5 per cent in the second quarter, with the operating margin reaching 4.4 per cent.
Throughout the period, PC laptops comprised 60 per cent of the company's revenues - up 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter; tablet computers comprised 15 per cent - down 5 per cent quarter-on-quarter; and PC motherboards represented 14 per cent - up 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
Sales of miscellaneous category products made up 12 per cent of revenues, up 3 per cent. The company noted that the laptop sales figure included its hybrid devices, which are designed to combine the functions of both tablet and notebook computers.
In the first half of this year, the company shipped 8.8 million laptop computer units, 5 million tablet computer units, and 10 million PC motherboard units.
For the third quarter, the company indicated an upbeat outlook, forecasting notebook shipments to reach 4.3 million units. Most notably, the PC maker expects to ship 3.5 million tablet computer units, up 70 per cent from the previous quarter, citing confidence in the latest Memo Pad and Nexus 7 tablet models poised to be released toward the end of the year.
Due to rapidly evolving market conditions, the company declined to provide forecasts for total 2013 device shipments, but said that it is confident in holding its position as the world's third largest tablet maker.