Asustek Computer has reported consolidated revenues of NT$39.858 billion (US$1.26 billion) for August, increasing 19.55% on month but decreasing 2.38% on year, and NT$295.795 billion for January-August, inching up 0.04% on year.

Asustek recorded brand sales revenues of NT$36.442 billion for August, growing 21.6% on month but dipping 4.0% on year, and NT$270.387 billion for January-August, slipping 0.3% on year, according to the company.

The sequential growth in August consolidated revenues and brand revenue was due to shipments of new ZenFone 3-series smartphones and rebounding sales of notebooks in Europe, Asustek said. Asustek launched ZenFone 3 in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines in August and will do so in Indonesia, Russia, Italy, France, China, Japan and the US in September-October.

As other smartphone vendors will launch new models beginning September, Asustek will face increasing competition and will ship 20-21 million ZenFone smartphones in 2016, falling short of its target of 25 million units set in early 2016.

In view of diminishing global demand for tablets, Asustek has been shifting manpower to its VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality) and smartphone business units, with the reassignments to be finished at the end of 2016.