Taipei, May 30 (CNA) Taiwan-based Asustek Computer Inc. was the fourth largest notebook computer vendor in the world in the first quarter of 2017, unchanged from the previous quarter, according to market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp.
In a research report, TrendForce said that Acer Inc., another Taiwanese PC brand, remained the world's sixth largest notebook computer vendor during the same period.
Despite remaining the No. 4 vendor, Asustek shipped 3.65 million notebook computers in the January-March period, down 17 percent from a quarter earlier, accounting for a 9.7 percent share of the world market, compared with a 9.8 percent share in the previous quarter, TrendForce said.
Anita Wang, an analyst with TrendForce, said that Asustek experienced higher production costs due to a spike in computer component prices which impacted sales in the first quarter. The first quarter figure also fell 9.9 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
Acer shipped 3.33 million notebook computers in the first quarter, down 12.7 percent from a quarter earlier but up 28.6 percent year-on-year which reflected its efforts to market Cromebook models, TrendForce said.
Acer's global market share stood at 8.8 percent, up from 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, helping the Taiwanese firm reduce the gap with Apple Inc., which took fifth place.
Apple shipped 3.4 million notebook computers in the January-March period, down 15.8 percent from the previous quarter, to take a 9 percent share of the global market, unchanged, TrendForce said.
TrendForce said that demand for the latest MacBook Pro model, which was unveiled in the fourth quarter, remained solid, preventing first quarter shipments from falling further.
The advisory firm said that Apple is expected to launch new notebook computer models by the end of June which could boost second quarter sales. Apple has scheduled its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) for June 5-9 for new product launches. In the first quarter, notebook computer shipments worldwide totaled 37.81 million units, down 15.6 percent from a quarter earlier.
U.S-based HP Inc. remained the largest notebook computer brand in the three-month period with a 22.8 percent share after shipping 8.62 million units, down 17.9 percent from a quarter earlier but up 18.9 percent from a year earlier.
China's Lenovo Group was the second largest vendor, unchanged from the previous quarter, after shipping 8 million units in the first quarter, down 16.4 percent from a quarter earlier, but up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, with a 21.2 percent global market share, TrendForce said.
TrendForce added that Dell Inc. of the U.S. took a 14.3 percent share of the global market to remain the third largest vendor by shipping 5.4 million notebook computers in the January-March period, down 18.7 percent from the previous quarter.
The advisory firm said that it remained cautious about the outlook for the global notebook computer market for the second half of this year, a traditional peak season and expected shipments to fall 2.4 percent in 2017.
