Wistron expects to ship 35-37 million notebooks in 2011, increasing 25-32% from 2010, but expects the corresponding proportion of consolidated revenues to decrease from 65% in 2010 to 55% in 2011 due to larger growth in shipments of other product lines, according to company chairman Simon Lin at an investors conference on October 22.

Wistron has adopted a policy of selecting orders with profitability, and therefore its overall gross margin rose to 6.11% during the third quarter of 2010 and is expected to remain at 5-6% in the fourth, and in 2011, Lin pointed out.

Wistron's board of directors, at a meeting on October 22, approved the company's third-quarter financial report and several investment projects. Wistron will add investment of US$42.75 million in Wistron InfoComm (Czech) to expand the subsidiary's LCD TV production capacity, add US$34.4 million in Wistron Mexico S.A. to increase production capacity for hand-held devices, and US$19 million in Wistron InfoComm Technology (America), its US provider of after-sale service, the company indicated.

In addition, Wistron and Taiwan-based Super Dragon Technology, will invest US$15.351 million to set up Wistron Green Tech, a joint venture reclaiming precious metals from electronic industrial waste in Texas, with the former to hold a 51% stake.

In China, Wistron will add US$5 million in an existing provider of PC services as well as set up a wholly-owned software company with investment of two million yuan (US$300,000), and a 40%-stake joint-venture software developer via investment of eight million yuan.

Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, October 2010

Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, October 2010