MUNICH, Germany-BenQ Corp. reported a larger-than-expected net loss of $185.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2005, which the company attributed to revamping its product portfolio. The company also recorded a $30.8 million write-off of low-end Siemens handsets it inherited after the Taiwanese firm’s BenQ Mobile division took over the German firm’s handset business in October. The loss contrasted sharply with BenQ’s $6.2 million net profit from the fourth quarter of the previous year.
BenQ’s Chief Financial Officer Eric Yu told an investor conference that the fourth-quarter loss was greater than expected, but the company’s executives predicted that BenQ’s launch of a dozen new handsets, introduced at the CeBIT trade show, would raise gross profits in the second and third quarters of this year. The company has aggressively marketed its new 3G and multimedia phones, and recently contracted with Real-Madrid soccer star Ronaldo Luiz Nazario to promote its new products.
However, slight market-share gains among four of the world’s top five handset vendors-Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc., LG Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P.-and some market share slippage by BenQ may pose hurdles to renewed growth at the Taiwanese company.
