Business News
BenQ hopes to start making profits in 2nd quarter
By DPA
Apr 30, 2007, 0:23 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan electronics giant BenQ hopes to start making profits in the second quarter of 2007 after suffering losses for nearly two years, a newspaper reported Monday.

The Economic Daily News (EDN) quoted Chen Chi-hung, manager of BenQ's product development centre, as saying that BenQ's branded business broke even in the first quarter and is expected to start making money in the second quarter.

'Liquid-crystal display (LCD) TV is expected to register the biggest growth,' Chen said. 'In Taiwan, BenQ is the top producer of 37-inch (94-centimetre) and larger LCD TV and plans to start making 65-inch (165-centimetre) LCD TV before the year end.'

BenQ's LCD projector output is expected to show sharp growth. BenQ's LCD projector is the number-two brand in Asia and Europe and the number-three brand worldwide.

In 2006, BenQ reaped had global revenue of 60 billion Taiwan dollars (1.8 billion US dollars) from worldwide sales of branded products - LCD TVs, monitors and projectors, cellphones and digital cameras.

BenQ grabbed world headlines in 2005 when it bought the loss- making handset unit of Siemens, winning the right to use the Siemens brand for five years.

In September 2006, BenQ dumped its German handset unit, BenQ Mobile, citing losses caused by delays in designing new models by BenQ Mobile.

On April 25, BenQ announced restructuring plans under which the BenQ Corp would be renamed Jia Da Corp and would focus on contract manufacturing while its branded business would be spun off.

The spinoff, still called BenQ, would continue to make cellphones, digital cameras and LCD TVs, monitors and projectors under the BenQ brand.

In the first quarter of 2007, BenQ sales totaled 29.5 billion Taiwan dollars (8.9 million US dollars), down 15 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2006.