MSI anticipates it will reach monthly shipments of 1.5 million motherboards in the second half of this year, according to company chairman Joseph Hsu. The company shipped about one million units in the first half, and may reach full production utilization by July.

For this year, MSI aims to ship 17 million motherboards, eight million graphics cards, 400,000 notebooks and 1.5 million MP3 players, Hsu stated. The company only began promoting notebooks in 2004, and this year plans to add a 17-inch model to its notebook lineup, which already includes 12-, 14- and 15-inch models, Hsu pointed out.

MSI started migrating all of its manufacturing to its China plants in Shenzhen and Kunshan Jiangsu Province in the second half of last year and the company has completed the migration, with all production currently operated in China, Hsu stated.

The migration of all production lines top China is aimed to lower manufacturing costs and increase the company’s gross margins, Hsu noted. MSI reached gross margins of 9.6% in the first quarter of this year, rising from 7.81% in 2004.

In addition, MSI has reached agreements with several PCB suppliers in China, for insurance against any possible PCB shortage resulting from power rationing in the region, according to Hsu.

MSI will deal out a dividend of NT$0.3 in share and NT$0.2 in cash for its 2004 operations.