Asustek didn’t quite have a great year over the past 12 months or so, because of product delays and reorganization. However, now it’s ready to take the bull by the horns and make some changes. The info came from Asustek chairman, Jonney Shih, who discussed the status of the company during a conference yesterday.
The first quarter wasn’t that good and the second quarter will be even lower for the firm this year. Asustek brought in $15.78 billion in consolidated revenues last year, which is 1% less than in 2015. Still, 90% of the target shipments were reached last year. Sources from within the upstream supply chain showed that aside from the tablet business, that lost money last year, there was also a reorganization of the company. Meanwhile the smartphone and notebook businesses also performed below expectations.
The company’s phone shipments and profits were affected by product launch delays in 2016 while the notebooks had to compete with the MSI gaming models. Asus still got solid profits in areas like motherboards, graphics cards and monitors. Non operating income was steady, according to the same sources. Jonney Shih also mentioned “fierce challenges” felt over Q1 and the decision of a reorganization in order to make operations more efficient.
Products and strategies are being adjusted accordingly, as ASUS is ready to bet more on AI. In the meantime Lenovo is also facing challenges, while MSI seems to have caught up with ASUS in the gaming area. With Q1 revenues down 26% sequentially and Q2 expected to go down 12%, ASUS must launch some appealing ZenPads and ZenFones to make up for the loss this year.
