Taiwan's top-two ODM handset makers – Compal Communications and Arima Communications – are expected to suffer a setback in shipments in 2007, according to industry insiders and sources at the two companies. Compal officially lowered its 2007 shipment target last week.

Compal has cut its projected handset shipments for 2007 to 55 million units, down from the 75 million units projected previously and also lower than the 68.8 million units it shipped in 2006, the company said in a May 4 filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).

The company cited that an unclear business outlook for the global handset industry and difficulties faced by its primary client are the reasons for the downward adjustment.

Compal expects its handset shipments to total 11.4 million units in the second quarter, down 20% from 14.3 million units for the first quarter.

Reflecting declining shipments, Compal said that its revenues slid 32.7% on year to NT$5.02 billion (US$150.8 million) in April. For the first four months of the year, revenues totaled NT$20.34 billion, down 14.7% on year, according to company data.

Arima Communications is also expected to experience a negative growth in shipments in 2007, based on first-half shipments projected for the company, according to market sources.

Arima shipped 1.66 million handsets in the first quarter and the company is expected to ship 2.0-2.5 million units in the second quarter, the sources estimated. With the company's first-half shipments to reach about 3.66-4.16 million units, or merely 23-26% of the company's projected shipments of 16 million units for 2007, Arima may see its 2007 shipments fall short of its target and even the volumes it shipped in 2006, the sources indicated.

Source:佚名