Acer Q2 2011 loses it 234m, won't break even

Acer on Tuesday posted a deeper than anticipated loss in the spring equal to $234.3 million and lowered its expectations for the year. The quarter was spun as a "correction period" as it had to clear out unsold stock and was paying severance deals for executives that had left in the company's mobile-focused shakeup, including former CEO Gianfranco Lanci. Chairman JT Wang added that, in spite of past promises, it would be "impossible" for the company to avoid a loss for the year as a whole.

The company's sales were being hurt by the European economy's broader problems. Wang argued that "more time and effort" was needed for Acer's reorganization around mobile. Its strategy, unveiled in spring after Lanci departed, would shift away from the emphasis on low-end notebooks and netbooks and towards tablets, smartphones, and higher-end notebooks.

Results would be better in the summer, but would still be in the red, according to Acer.

In spite of the results, Wang clung to his insistence that tablets were a fad. He saw the demand for them as a "fever" and that notebooks would eventually reclaim the limelight. He didn't predict when this shift would happen.

The chairman's statements came even as Acer's trust in this view of notebooks hasn't been rewarded. It continues to fall sharply in notebook share. Apple so far hasn't shown any signs of slowing tablet demand and doubled its iPad shipments in the same period. Unofficial data could see 14 million iPads delivered during the whole of the summer.

By Electronista Staff