Taiwan's Top-five Electronics Firms See Sales Declines in April
Taiwan's top-five electronics firms, including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Quanta Computer Inc., Compal Electronics Inc., Asustek Computer Inc. and Acer Inc., all encountered sales declines in April, which is expected to dampen the recently rallying stock market.
Hon Hai, Taiwan's largest private-sector manufacturer, registered NT$94.407 billion (US$2.86 billion at US$1:NT$33) in sales in April, down 8.2% from the preceding month, worse than market expectations. The company posted NT$372.4 billion (US$11.28 billion) in cumulative sales in the first four months of this year, down 7.98% year-on-year.
The sliding sales posted by the top-five firms in April doesn't mean an end to the rush order effect for the domestic electronic sector since the off-season for the industry comes in the second quarter.
The poor performance of the electronics firms in April has prompted foreign institutional investors, including Merrill Lynch and Macquarie Equity, to sell PC stocks.
Hon Hai spokesman C.A. Ting said among the 3C (computer, consumer electronics and communications) industry, the computer line is growing healthier than consumer-electronics and communications items in April sales because of the impact of the off-season.
