Lite-On IT to cut back DVD-ROM drive shipments next year
Lite-On IT, the world’s largest DVD-ROM and CD-RW drive manufacturer, will cut back DVD-ROM drive shipments next year due to high technology licensing fees and decreasing profit margins.
Licensing fees for DVD-ROM drive technology costs about US$10 per unit, about one-third of a drive’s manufacturing contract price. If Taiwan-based companies cannot solve this issue, they will not be able to sustain profitable operations when DVD-ROM drive prices fall further, said Michael Gong, general manager of Lite-On IT’s optical disc drive business unit.
The company plans to ship more higher-margin CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drives and cut DVD-ROM drive shipments back by 3-5% next year. It expects to ship 40 million optical storage drives in total, of which 15 million units will be CD-ROM drives, 10 million CD-RW drives, six million combo drives, six million to 6.8 million DVD-ROM drives and three million other products. Lite-On expects its DVD-ROM drive shipments to include about two million half-high type drives and four million slim-type drives.
The company indicated that it has already shipped combo drives to Fujitsu Siemens Computers and will ship 20,000 units to Gateway this month.
The company plans to ship more higher-margin CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drives and cut DVD-ROM drive shipments back by 3-5% next year. It expects to ship 40 million optical storage drives in total, of which 15 million units will be CD-ROM drives, 10 million CD-RW drives, six million combo drives, six million to 6.8 million DVD-ROM drives and three million other products. Lite-On expects its DVD-ROM drive shipments to include about two million half-high type drives and four million slim-type drives.
The company indicated that it has already shipped combo drives to Fujitsu Siemens Computers and will ship 20,000 units to Gateway this month.
