Verizon expected to lead iPad 3 sales over AT&T (USA)
Apple’s latest iPad 3 has created quite a buzz and is eagerly awaited by Apple fans. The new iPad to be unveiled on 7 March will be first sold by wireless operators AT&T and Verizon Wireless. However, according to a report by BN, Verizon Wireless is expected to benefit more with the iPad than its rival AT&T.
As per the report, industry analysts believe that while Verizon Wireless will sell around 3 million to 4 million new iPads this year, rival operator AT&T can expect a sale of around 2 million iPads. The prime reason for this is the operator’s LTE network.
As reported earlier, the new iPad has been designed to be compatible with LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology, enabling users to surf the net and stream videos in a faster and uninterrupted manner. Verizon Wireless boasts of an extensive LTE network coverage, while AT&T is still at the initial stages reaching out to only a few customers.
As per company reports, Verizon’s LTE network reached over 200 million customers at the end of last year, while AT&T covered about 74 million customers. However, Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T, claimed that even when AT&T customers are outside an area covered by LTE, they are still going to have a very fast experience.
Another advantage for Verizon highlighted in the report is the mobile hot-spot feature. Consumers using the iPad with Verizon will be allowed to turn it into a hot spot, to which other devices can connect to surf the Web. However, AT&T’s iPad doesn’t currently have this capability, but is working with Apple to offer it in the future.
HTC sales may reach TWD 100 bn in Q1
HTC is expected to see its first-quarter sales break the TWD 100 billion mark, reports the Cens. HTC registered TWD 32.106 billion in consolidated sales in February, up 212.33 percent year-on-year but down 8.3 percent from the preceding month. The company scored TWD 67.121 billion in consolidated sales in the first two months of this year, up 212.91 percent from a year earlier. Due to the sale of its newly launched Desire-series smartphones, HTC has seen shipments in January and February surpass market expectations. Earlier, HTC was expected to ship 8.5 million smartphones with sales reaching TWD 94 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 157 percent and 14 percent year-on-year, respectively. The company`s second-quarter sales will keep trending upward as it has constantly launched new machines and the ‘Flyer’-series tablet computers since the beginning of the second quarter. HTC will focus its deployment in the Asian market this year. HTC Asia-Pacific vice president CL Tung anticipated his company will see strong dynamics in sales of smartphones this year as consumers are gradually switching to use smartphones from conventional multi-functional ones.
LG Optimus One Hits 1 Million Sales Worldwide
LG today announced that worldwide sales of its Optimus One smart phone have hit one million units just 40 days after the phone’s initial launch. Now available in the Middle East after the global roll-out last month, the Optimus One is the fastest selling mobile handset in the company’s history.
Powered by the Android 2.2 “Froyo” OS and optimized for Google Mobile Services, the LG Optimus One has been a big hit with first-time smart phone buyers looking for high performance and useful applications in a handset priced very competitively to feature phones.
“The versatile, powerful LG Optimus One was designed to provide an easy transition into the world of smartphones and as these numbers demonstrate, there is obviously a strong demand for this type of device,” Mr. Kevin Cha, Managing Director of LG Electronics
Levant “Optimus One seems to be what many customers were waiting for, proving that smartphones aren’t just for early adopters anymore.”
One of the first smartphones to launch with Google’s latest operating system, the Optimus One allows for up to three times faster internet browsing, web-page loading, and multi-tasking. The Optimus One also incorporates a unique LG-designed user-interface (UI) along with a camera that features face tracking and smile shot, a 3.2″ wide HVGA screen and a long-lasting 1500mAh capacity battery.
With a nod to style-conscious users, LG’s new smart phone comes in a wide range of color schemes including black, wine, titan, blue, silver and purple. Exact color availability will vary from market to market.
With the global roll-out still under way, the Optimus One will soon be available via 120 carriers and partners. LG expects Optimus One to be its first 10 million-seller smart phone.
Verizon appoints Bob Toohey as the new Global Chief
Verizon has appointed Bob Toohey as the new President of Verizon Communications Inc.’s global business unit.
Toohey will take his new role immediately. The appointment comes after Verizon appointed former Verizon Business President Fran Shammo as the service provider’s executive vice president and chief financial officer of Verizon Communications. Previously, Shammo led the company’s combined consumer and business wireline operations.
Over the course of his 22 year career with Verizon, which began at the former GTE in 1988, Toohey served in various finance, operations and human resources positions. More recently, Toohey served as the Senior Vice President of global customer care and services for Verizon Business.
In his new job, Toohey will oversee marketing, sales, professional services and service delivery for Verizon’s enterprise, mid-sized business and government clients around the world.
Verizon shares fall on downgrade
Verizon shares have slipped by 1.9% on Tuesday following an analyst downgrade from Bernstein Research, taking down the firm’s outlook to underperform and sell based on cash-flow and dividend worries.
Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett noted that the shares have run up since the start of the quarter–up nearly 12% since Sept. 1–leaving the stock at a historically high relative valuation level.
Verizon, the largest mobile network operator in the U.S. by market share, witnessed its outlook downgraded by Craig Moffett, analyst for Bernstein Research, who was concerned about future near-term cash-flow pressure. Setting the target price at US$25, nearly 25% lower than the market price, Moffett expressed concern that after making cash distributions to Vodafone its partner in Verizon Wireless, and paying dividends, the company would be left with a razor-thin margin for error and sharply limited ability to commit to future dividend growth.
Moffett emphasizes that he is not predicting a dividend cut; rather they are noting that the market is likely to demand a significantly higher dividend yield to reflect the intrinsic risk associated with a dividend payout ratio in the proximity of 100% of available cash flow.
According to Barclays Capital analyst James Ratcliffe, Verizon, with a 55% stake in Verizon Wireless, has access to cash when they need it. He is very comfortable with the Verizon dividend to shareholders; he would hold Verizon as its underlying business is healthy.
According to a report, the broker cited the up-coming launch of the company’s next-generation LTE wireless networks, as well as the wide-ranging expectation that Verizon Wireless will begin selling the iPhone by early next year.
According to the Arugus report, while Verizon’s valuation multiples are higher than those of peers, as has typically been the case, the stock is now trading near or below the low end of its historical average range for price/sales and price/EBITDA.
