UPDATE: Major Contract Notebook Makers Warn Of Weakening Demand

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

Dell (NASDAQ:DELL)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 6월(6) 2024 으로 7월(7) 2024