TAIPEI — A low-price laptop product line is helping Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. generate record revenue despite signs of slowing global growth, a senior company executive said Tuesday.
Chief Executive Jerry Shen said the company is expecting revenue will grow 26 per cent to $834.3-million in September with the prospects for October and November even brighter.
Shen attributed much of the success to Asustek's budget Eee PCs, whose prices range from $300 to $1,000.
“The sales of computers, as daily necessity goods, are only slightly affected during a financially turbulent period,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Since launching the Eee PCs last year, Asustek has shipped about 4 million models, according to company officials.
Asustek's success with Eee PCs has already prompted competitors, including Taiwan-based Acer Inc. and U.S.-based Dell Inc., to launch their own low-price laptops.
On Tuesday, Asustek unveiled a new Eee PC model, the S101, aimed at Christmas shoppers in Europe and the United States that costs $699. The new machine boasts an ultra-thin, ultra-light style. It weighs only 1 kg and is 1.8 cm thick.
Asustek stock has lost about 18 per cent in the past month — a drop Mr. Shen attributed to the generally pessimistic tone on world markets.
He did however, adopt a cautious attitude about 2009, based on competitors' possible responses to Asustek's continuing dominance in the small laptop market.
“The worst I am expecting is that next year's profit growth might be cut in half if our competitors start to offer ludicrously low prices to attract consumers in a sluggish economy,” he said.
