ASUS remains number one motherboard maker due to aggressive price cutting

DigiTimes writes ASUS managed to keep a clear lead in the motherboard maker due to aggressive price cutting. The strategy helped ASUS to widen the gap with archrival Gigabyte at the expense of profit growth. ASUS is expected to ship 11.6 million motherboards in the second half of this year, significantly more than Gigabyte's 9.7 million target.

For the full year, ASUS is confident it will hit motherboard shipments of 22 million units, up from 20.7 million units in 2013, whereas Gigabyte is expected to maintain annual shipments of 20 million units for 2014.

However, the competition will allow Gigabyte to keep its 2014 profits at a level similar to 2013, while Asustek's profits are expected to decline sharply due to major increases in marketing expenses and drops in product ASPs, noted the sources adding that Asustek's profits from the motherboard business are expected to drop from around NT$5 billion (US$163.09 million) in 2013 to NT$4 billion in 2014.

MSI and ASRock, the other two first-tier motherboard makers, are expected to face drops in profitability and shipments in 2014. The situation is expected to continue in the first half of 2015.