Taiwan-based PC maker Asus has announced that the company made net profit of NTD6.497 billion, which equals CNY1.37 billion, in the third quarter of 2009, higher than its expectation of NTD2.97 billion.

Its net profit was also an increase of 1.8% from NTD6.38 billion in the same period of last year and its earnings per share was NTD1.5. However, its operating revenue decreased by over 14% year-on-year to NTD67.1 billion, due to a decrease in the prices of personal computers.

The company stated the net profit growth in the third quarter was because the good performances of its notebook and motherboard businesses. Its strategy of separating its Asus-brand products from its OEM business has been successful. Of the total profit, over NTD3.5 billion were contributed by its Asus-brand products and the remaining NTD3 billion were from its OEM company.

Asus predicted that its shipment of notebook and netbook in the fourth quarter of 2009 is expected to reach four million and its profit may be over NTD4 billion. In addition, stimulated by the launch of Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system, the company's shipment in the fourth quarter has a good chance to exceed that in the third quarter.