Acer partner delays on bad business - image - BDFM Online

Acer partner delays on bad business

Companies such as Acer, the world’s second-largest maker of personal computers, may need to focus more on developing tablet models to boost profit.

CHINMEI SUNG

Published: 2011/04/04 07:22:43 AM

WISTRON, a Taiwanese maker of laptop computers for Acer, will extend the deadline of a planned stock sale after losing almost a quarter of its market value since announcing the fund-raising.




Taiwan’s financial regulator approved a three-month extension to June 30, Wistron said in a statement to the stock exchange at the weekend. Wistron shares have fallen 24% since its announcement in December.




Conventional laptops are losing appeal to new devices such as hand-helds with touch screens, analysts including Dean Lim at Mirae Asset Securities, said.


Companies such as Acer, the world’s second-largest maker of personal computers, may need to focus more on developing tablet models to boost profit.




"Sentiment isn’t very positive on laptop stocks lately," said Bevan Yeh at Prudential Financial Securities Investment Trust Enterprise in Taipei. "It’s good to extend the fund-raising to give the company’s share price a chance to move higher," he said




Wistron aims to raise 3,3- billion New Taiwanese dollars ($113m) selling up to 60-million new shares in a secondary public offering, and as much as $292,5m selling Global Depositary Receipts equivalent to no more than 150- million new shares, according to a December 1 statement.




Proceeds from the sales will go to repay bank loans, purchase raw materials overseas and strengthen Wistron’s financial structure, according to the statements.




Wistron posted net income of 3,1-billion New Taiwanese dollars for the three months to December, unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2009 and down from 3,3-billion New Taiwanese dollars in the previous quarter.




Wistron, spun off from Acer in 2003, climbed 0,9% to 47 New Taiwanese dollars in Taipei on Saturday before it announced the extension. Bloomberg