LONDON: Total handset shipments by Taiwan-based brand vendors and ODMs are expected to decline 13.3% on quarter and 11.4% on year to 15.55 million units in the first quarter of 2016, affected by seasonal factors, according to Digitimes Research.
Shipments by brand vendors HTC, Asustek Computer and Acer combined will slide 7-8%sequentially in the first quarter, while those shipped by ODMs, including Compal Electronics, the Foxconn Group, Arima Communications and Wistron, are expected to decrease 20%, Digitimes Research estimated.
Shipments of some models to Sony Mobile Communications and Microsoft by local ODMs will continue to decrease in the first quarter as these models are to enter the EOL (end of line) phase of their sales cycles, Digitimes Research noted.
Microsoft has not yet released orders for new models to ODMs, affecting shipments of its production partners Foxconn and Arima in the first quarter. However, Compal will see its shipments increase slightly in the quarter thanks to orders from China-based LeTV.
For shipment rankings, Asustek is expected to be No. 1 among brand vendors and ODMs with its shipments reaching 4.5 million units in the first quarter. Compal will take the second position with shipments of 3.5million units, with HTC coming in third with shipments of 3.2 million units, Digitimes Research said.
