Taiwan’s Acer swings to loss in 2nd quarter

TAIPEI—Taiwan’s leading computer vendor Acer Inc. said Wednesday it suffered a loss of Tw$6.8 billion ($236 million) in the three months to June, swinging from a profit of $41.53 million in the previous quarter.

More than half of the loss, or $150 million, came from payments to clear inventory in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the company said in a statement.

“In Q2 Acer made efforts to further downsize channel inventory due to stagnant European and US economies, and the slow PC market,” it said.

“Additionally, the company paid considerably in senior executive severance pay. Consequently, Acer suffered a higher than expected loss in Q2.”

The loss compared with a net profit of 3.59 billion Taiwan dollars seen a year earlier, while its revenue tumbled 32 percent year on year, the company said.

Gianfranco Lanci, an Italian, resigned as Acer’s chief executive officer and president in April after the company’s profit in the first quarter hit a six-year low, largely knocked by the brisk demand for Apple’s iPad.

In the first half of this year, Acer accumulated $195 million in losses.