Asustek to hand out NT$2.02 in dividends per share
Asustek Computer Inc., one of Taiwan’s leading manufacturers of laptop computers, recently announced the firm would hand out NT$2.02 (US$0.059 in US$1:NT$34) in dividends per share, including NT$2 cash and NT$0.02 stocks.
Due to the impact of the global recession, Asustek saw net income reach NT$3.8 (US$0.11) per share last year, the worst earnings performance since its listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 1996. However, the NT$2 cash dividends represent an over 50% cash-dividend rate, the highest over the past nine years and also higher than market expectations.
Asustek encountered quarterly operating losses in the fourth quarter of last year due to being battered by the global financial tsunami and improper inventory management.
Faced with the first-seen quarterly operating losses, Asustek has launched an organizational reform plan, masterminded by chairman & chief branding officer Jonney Shih, vice chairman C.S. Tseng and president & CEO Jerry Shen.
A foreign securities firm predicted that Asustek will encounter core-business operating losses of NT$2.1 billion (US$61.76 million) in the first quarter of this year, higher than market expectations of between NT$1 billion (US$29.41 million) and NT$1.5 billion (US$44.11 million). But the company is expected to post net operating losses of NT$680 million (US$20 million) in the first quarter of this year due to earnings from foreign exchange and reinvestments.
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