BenQ today announced its core business consolidated revenue for December 2002 was NT$ 8.83 billion, an 8% increase on a year-over-year basis. The Q4-2002 quarterly consolidated revenue totaled NT$ 28.16 billion, an increase of 24% from NT$ 22.61 billion in Q3-2002. In 2002, annual revenue grew 50% to NT$ 104.7 billion. In December, LCD displays contributed 38% of total revenue, while other display products contributed 12% of the total revenue; imaging and storage products contributed 23% of the total revenue; communication products contributed 27% of total revenue.

Shipments of LCD monitors hit a record high in December. BenQ Vice Spokesman Alex Liou noted that the shipments of LCD monitors surpassed 300,000 units in December due to reduced panel prices and an increased bundling ratio. The company expects demand of LCD monitors will be even stronger in Q1-2003. The shipment of handsets reached 1.2 million units in December. In 2002, LCD monitor shipments totaled 2.5 million while handset shipments reached 16 million units.

Regarding Year 2003 prospects, Mr. Liou indicated that LCD monitors are presently in a fast-growth stage and replacement demand has been stimulated by lower panel prices. It is expected that 2003 will still yield quantum volume growth for LCD monitors. In the handset business, the volume growth potential may be limited this year while the company manages its portfolio to launch more models with higher average selling price and advanced features, such as CDMA phones, GPRS phones, color-screen phones, and wireless modules. In addition, growth momentum is expected in the imaging and storage business, coming largely from new products such as DVD+RW and digital cameras. It is expected that the new product lines, such as LCD TV and Joybook, will start to contribute to revenue this year. Overall, BenQ expects revenue to grow by at least 20% in 2003.