Acer posts highest net profit since first quarter 2013 amid PC turnaround

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's Acer Inc reported a second-quarter net profit on Thursday, their best quarter in over a year, as the struggling computer maker starts to show signs of a turnaround. The company said it earned a net profit for the April-June quarter of T$485 million (9.59 million pounds) versus analyst forecasts of a T$70.16 million loss, on the heels of a broader turnaround in the PC industry after years of decline. This compares to a net loss of T$343 million in the same period of 2013 and a slim T$1 million profit in the first three months of the year. The company has posted losses or tiny profit at best every quarter since early 2011. The second-quarter profit figure was the highest since first quarter of 2013. Acer's new chief executive, Jason Chen, said recently the firm's quarter-on-quarter PC shipments exceeded the industry average in the April-June period and that sales of products such as its Chromebook more than doubled in the first half of 2014. Chipmaker Intel Corp also recently issued a rosy revenue forecast on the popularity of so-called two-in-one devices as companies replace their old computers. Acer shares closed up 1.26 percent ahead of the earnings release, compared to a 0.14 percent fall in the overall TAIEX index. (Reporting by Michael Gold; Editing by Matt Driskill)