2/11/13

Acer Expects Full-Year Loss - WSJ.com

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ASIA BUSINESS

Updated January 23, 2013, 9:22 a.m. ET

Acer Expects Loss Amid Write-Down on Brands
By EV A DOU

TAIPEI—Acer Inc. expects to post a full-year loss for 2012 amid a US$120.1 million write-down on the value of the brands it owns, as the personal-computer maker struggles to revive its business in a highly competitive market. It will be the company's second-straight annual loss. Acer, the world's fourth-largest PC maker, said Wednesday that it wrote down trademark rights for the Gateway, Packard Bell, eMachines and E-Ten brands after an annual review. A spokesman for the company said the write-down won't affect business operations, but declined to give more specific details ahead of the release of Acer's annual report in early March.
Bloomberg News

The Acer Iconia W510 tablet computer

The company reported a net loss of 6.6 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$228 million) for

2011. Just three years ago, the Taiwanese company was considered a top contender to unseat Hewlett-Packard Co. as the world's largest PC maker. But inventory-management problems and Acer's slow diversification away from the declining laptop market helped push the company to its first full-year net loss in 2011. Analysts said the write-down was lower than expected, possibly leaving room for similar moves in the future. The change reduces Acer's fourth-quarter intangible asset value by 8% to NT$39.1 billion from NT$42.6 billion, the company said. "If Gateway and Packard Bell aren't doing well after rebranding, or if Acer fails to maintain or regain its market share globally, it is possible that Acer will have to make further write-downs on the brands," Daiwa Securities analyst Christine Wang said. "Acer is likely to launch key new products around May or June. The picture will become clearer by then." online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323539804578259163025742462.html#printMode 1/2

2/11/13

Acer Expects Full-Year Loss - WSJ.com

Acer's world-wide PC market share has fallen steadily, to 9.5% last year from 10.2% in 2011 and 12.4% the previous year, according to market researcher IDC. It booked razor-thin margins for the first three quarters last year, reflecting the tough market for PC makers. World-wide PC shipments for the fourth quarter last year fell 6.4% from a year earlier to 89.8 million units, worse than the predicted decline of 4.4%, according to IDC. Unlike bigger rivals such as Lenovo Group Ltd. of China, Acer