Acer Chairman: We'll Nab Half The Netbook Market In 2010

Taiwanese computer maker Acer has high hopes for the long-term health of its netbook business, even as the company saw a huge profit dip last quarter and lowered its netbook shipment forecasts for 2009.

Acer's profit for the first quarter plunged 31 percent year over year, and the company on Wednesday cut its 2009 outlook for netbook shipments by as much as 3 million units. Acer said it now expects to ship 10 million to 12 million netbooks in 2009, down from previous expectations that it would ship 12 million to 15 million units this year.

But the company remains bullish on the longer-term health of netbooks: Acer Chairman J.T. Wang predicted the overall netbook market to hit 50 million units shipped in 2010, and said that 40 percent to 50 percent of those will come from Acer.

Acer's first quarter net profit plunged 31 percent to NT (New Taiwan) $2.03 billion (about $60 million), according to an Acer earnings statement. Revenue for the quarter dropped 6.5 percent to NT $119 billion (about $3.5 billion).

Acer is still predicting PC shipments to increase by as much as 40 percent in the second half of 2009.

Wang told DigiTimes he thinks global notebook shipments will hit 200 million in 2010, and about a quarter of those -- roughly 50 million -- will be netbooks. Acer's share of those overall netbook shipments will be about 40 percent to as much as 50 percent, Wang said.

At least one analyst urged Wang to rein in his predictions Wednesday. Eszter Morvay, a senior research analyst for IDC's European PC group, told The Inquirer that Wang's numbers were way off base and more than a little optimistic.

IDC is predicting global notebook shipments to be about 170 million in 2010. To hit 200 million shipments would require "a major recovery globally," Morvay said.

"IDC's netbook forecast for 2010 is 30 million," Morvay told The Inquirer, which is "more in line with reality."