Global notebook shipments forecast to grow 4.5% in Q4

2012/11/05 13:18:51

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) Global notebook computer shipments are likely grow at a lower-than-seasonal rate in the fourth quarter as consumer demand remains uncertain, Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group AG said Monday. The bank forecast that notebook shipments of the top five contract makers will increase 4.5 percent sequentially to 40.45 million units during the October-to-December period, lower than the average 5.5 percent over the past three years. Taiwan’s Quanta Computer Inc. will remain the largest contract laptop vendor in the fourth quarter, shipping 14.29 million notebooks, followed by Compal Electronics Inc. with 10.1 million units, Credit Suisse projected. In third to fifth places will be Taiwan-based Wistron Corp., Inventec Corp. and Pegatron Corp., with estimated quarterly shipments of 7.5 million, 4.3 million and 4.25 million units, respectively, the Swiss bank forecast. “The PC sector is in a knife fight, in our view. PC OEMs are reluctant to ramp up orders, causing notebook ODMs units to decline in the third quarter,” Credit Suisse analyst Thompson Wu wrote in a note to clients. The health of the PC sector remains in question, which has been a downside risk since July and has indicated low expectations for the sector, Wu said. He suggested investors stick with innovators and market share gainers, including PC brand companies Asustek Computer Inc. of Taiwan and Lenovo Group of China, and Taiwanese contract notebook maker Pegatron. Credit Suisse maintained its “outperform” stock rating on Asustek, Lenovo, Pegatron and Wistron and its “neutral” on Quanta and Compal. In October, British bank Barclays Plc lowered its forecast for notebook shipments by the top five contract makers, from 12 percent growth to an 8 percent sequential increase in the fourth quarter. Barclays said it might further cut its PC shipment forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2012 and early 2013, given the confusion surrounding the new Windows 8 operating system, ultrabook computers and the adverse effects of tablets and smartphones on the PC market. (By Jeffrey Wu) ENDITEM /pc