Vista sends Quanta laptop sales to new high

The world’s largest contract laptop computer maker shipped over 2 million notebook computers in the month of January, an all-time high for a single month, due to strong orders ahead of the launch of Microsoft Windows Vista, the company’s president said Friday.

Taiwan’s Quanta Computer, which counts Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard among its clients, also expects its sales this year to exceed NT$500 billion (US$15.2 billion), said Michael Wang, Quanta’s president. Last year, its sales were NT$461.5 billion.

This year, Quanta expects to ship over 25 million laptop computers, up about 30 percent over last year. The company believes the notebook computer industry will experience strong growth over the next three years.

Despite strong laptop computer shipments, Quanta has seen profit margins fall as stiff competition among PC vendors forces pricing down. There are also several contract laptop makers for vendors to choose from, ensuring competitive bidding for big orders. To combat lower margins, Quanta has expanded its product offerings to include mobile phones, smartphones, and Apple iPods.