Acer Forecasts Bright 2005

Acer President J.T. Wang said the company is aiming to increase both notebook and desktop computer sales by 2 million units next year, meaning sales of each would surpass 10 million units.

The company also said it expects to ship 3 million more units of liquid-crystal-display monitors next year than this year.

Wang said Acer's 2005 full-year revenue could reach 220 billion New Taiwan dollars ($6.58 billion), but that would depend on whether it sells some of its shareholdings and if Intel issues new chips this quarter, a move expected to spur PC and notebook computer sales.

The new president of Acer's international operations business group, Gianfranco Lanci, said increased sales of Acer notebooks and PCs next year could help it rise in the global rankings of notebook and PC makers.

Acer executives have also said the prices of some key components have fallen as shortages have eased, mainly of flat computer screens.

At least 90 percent of the cost reductions would be passed on to consumers, with a small amount helping to boost Acer's gross margin, Lanci said.

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