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Acer shakes fist at rising DRAM and R&D costs

Swings to net loss AGAIN in Q2

Acer has swung to a calendar Q2 loss caused by rising component costs and R&D investments, the Taiwanese PC maker has claimed.

The world's fourth largest shifter of computer tin reported operating losses of NT$613m (£13.2m) for the three months ended 30 June compared to an operating profit of NT$433m (£9.3m) a year earlier.

"The operating loss was largely due to increasing expenses on investments to strengthen [the] company's industrial design capability and the declining gross margin due to DRAM's price hike," it said.

Operating margin was 0.7 per cent, compared to 0.03 per cent in Q1 and 0.4 per cent a year earlier.

Consolidated group sales came in at NT$89.38bn (£1.93bn) down from NT$115bn (£2.48bn) for Q2 2012, and it posted a net loss of NT$343m (£7.4m) versus a retained profit of £1.2m.

As has been well documented by us, Acer's problems became more visible from Q3 2010 when the consumer notebook/ netbook sectors - which it led by some distance - collapsed.

An entirely new management team, armed with a freshly written channel strategy and an expanded device portfolio failed to ignite meaningful growth or prevent Acer from slipping into the red.

It seems those same punters that lapped up its cheap low costs notebooks and netbooks don't have the same appetite for Acer slabs.

At last count, Acer reported PC shipment declines of 35.3 per cent in Q2, according to Gartner, in a market that fell 10.9 per cent. ®

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