Asus CEO Jerry Shen tells investors the company has plans to counteract the current contraction of the PC market during 2014, as it plans to launch smartphones, Chromebooks and even wearables.
The announcement comes as Asus Q3 2013 net profit drops by -26% Y-o-Y due to one-time tax expenses worth $15.37 million.
According to the Taipei Times Asus will launch new smartphones at CES 2014 before unveiling new Chromebooks during Q1 2014. The company does not give details on the smartphones it will offer, but says it has two Chromebooks in store-- one 13.3-inch and other the 11.6-inch, both aimed at the education market.
"We remain optimistic about the desktop and laptop [PC] market, but our priority is to make the company's smartphone business turn a profit next year," CFO David Chang says. The company hopes for 2014 smartphone shipments reaching 5m units, up from 1m units for 2013.
Laptops currently make 57% of the Asus product portfolio, followed by tablets (20%) and motherboards (13%).
Later during the year Asus will reveal its take on wearables at Taipei's Computex, but no details on such devices are available as yet.
