KUCHING: Smart devices continue to shine, says RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd (RHB Research), reiterating its bullish stance on tablets and mobile phones as it expect sales to be driven by lower price points.
This follows the emergence of China-based manufacturers with mass market offerings from as low as RM300 to RM400 per smartphone.
On the premium segment, the successful introduction of flagship models such as Galaxy Note 4 and iPhone 6 with improved technical specifications as well as enhanced physical designs, in RHB Research’s view, will likely entice upgrades among existing smartphone owners.
“We are less positive on personal computers and hard drive disc segments,” it said in its note on the sector. “Gartner estimates that the traditional PC market would continue its downtrend to register contraction of 6.7 per cent in 2014 and 5.3 per cent in 2015.
“This coincides with our view, given that the touch-based Windows 8 platform has failed to live up to user expectations thus far. By the same token, we expect hard disk drive shipments to remain lacklustre.
“Although on September 30, Microsoft is anticipated to unveil its next operating system codenamed Windows 9, we believe official launching of this new platform is unlikely until the third quarter of 2015 (3Q15).”
Meanwhile, RHB Research believes camera sales would continue to face headwinds due to the cannibalisation impact from the introduction of smartphones equipped with relatively sophisticated camera specifications.
“Notably, the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) reported a 27.3 per cent year on year (y-o-y) decline in global camera shipments in the first seven months of the year.
It has also been a record month for semiconductors with the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announcing that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached US$28.1 billion in July, marking the industry’s highest monthly sales ever.
On the other hand, the book-to-bill ratio for semiconductor equipment stayed at parity as of May.
“We are expecting the positive momentum to sustain for the rest of the year, driven by increased appetite for technology devices on an improved global economic outlook,” it noted.
“Overall, we maintain our neutral view on the tech sector with Inari and Datasonic as our top buy.”