Taiwan-based motherboard brand ASRock shipped eight million branded motherboards in 2010 and became the third-largest motherboard brand, surpassing Micro-Star International (MSI) and Elitegroup Computer System (ECS) and only behind Asustek Computer and Gigabyte Technology, according to sources from motherboard players.
Asustek shipped about 21.6 million branded motherboards in 2010, still the largest in the market, despite the company was unable to achieve its goal of shipping 25 million units. However, Asustek's profits of NT$8 billion (US$275.34 million) from its motherboard business in 2010 still allowed the company to outshine its competitors.
Gigabyte shipped about 18 million branded motherboards in 2010, the second-largest in the market and achieved strong results from the China market; however, affected by Asustek competing over price, the company's profitability in 2010 was lower than expected.
ASRock currently has about 75-80% of its motherboard shipments mid-range and high-end models with price points at around US$50. Despite the company selling motherboards with a rather cheap price, its gross margin was still able to maintain at above 18-19%. ASRock shipped about two million motherboards in the fourth quarter of 2010 and is expected to see flat or slight growth of 5% sequentially for the first quarter of 2011, according to market watchers.
MSI and ECS each shipped about seven million branded motherboards in 2010; however, their OEM orders were still maintained at around 10 million units for the year with ECS still seeing stable orders from HP, the sources noted.
As for second-tier brand vendors, Biostar Microtech International shipped about five million units in 2010 with Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) having already stepped out of the branded market.
For 2011, Asustek expects its shipments to grow about 5% on year and reach 22.7 million units, while Gigabyte expects its shipments to maintain at about 18-18.5 million and ASRock will aim to ship nine million units.
Article translated by Joseph Tsai
