Apacer focusing on digital peripherals

TAIPEI: Apacer Technology, the maker of memory modules, says it is focusing on more profitable digital peripherals that yield higher gross margins.

According to Apacer Technology, its high-margin product line – including wireless presenters and mice, and digital media players – at present make up about 22 per cent of the company’s total revenues.

I-shih Chen, president of Apacer Technology, said in a statement that the company expects sales from digital peripherals to go up to a 30 per cent share of its total revenues, and this would act as a major growth driver for 2010.

He said Apacer has set a goal to sell 500,000 units of digital peripherals, resulting in the revenues from this segment increasing by 30 per cent in 2010.

Regarding the core product line of Apacer Technology, I-shih Chen said the increase in the prices of chips has given rise to a “healthier DRAM environment” – heralding continued recovery in the chips sector through 2010.

Chen is also optimistic about the NAND flash industry in 2010; he hopes the new applications, like such solid-state drives (SSD), will boost demand for NAND flash.

Apacer Technology is considering resuming its application for listing on the over-the-counter (OTC) market or the main board of the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE), I-shih Chen said.

The company had, in late 2007, abandoned a plan to list on the OTC market, blaming the downturn in the industry for the move.

Meanwhile, Apacer Technology has posted a net income of NT$148.92 million (US $4.61 million) on revenues of NT$4.315 billion for the first half of 2009 – as against a loss of NT$72.57 million on revenues of NT$6.29 million in 2008.

Apacer Technology was founded by Acer. In August 2008, Acer had relinquished its holdings in Apacer.

A-Data Technology and Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) – which took over the shares given up by Acer – are now two of the major shareholders of Apacer Technology.