Acer on December 20 announced the recognition of intangible asset impairment of NT$6.34 billion (US$199 million), equivalent to net loss per share NT$2.06, for 2016 in accordance with IAS (International Accounting Standard) 36.

The intangible asset impairment consists of NT$6.19 billion attributable to iGware, a cloud computing company acquired by Acer in 2012, and reduction by NT$150 million in brand value of Gateway's and Packard Bell's trademarks, company president Jason Chen said. Following Acer's in-house development of cloud computing products and services, iGware has been incapable of generating revenues and thus its intangible asset value has to be written off, Chen indicated.

As Acer recorded net EPS of NT$0.28 for January-September 2016, the intangible asset impairment will render Acer's 2016 business operation in net loss.

However, Chen explained the intangible asset impairment results in no outflow of cash and thus will not bring negative impact on Acer's business operation. In addition, Acer's net asset value per share is expected to be maintained at NT$19 and annual amortized cost can decrease by about NT$230 million beginning 2017 due to recognition of the intangible asset impairment, Chen noted.

Acer also announced the buyback of 100 million shares of its stock, equivalent to a 3.25% stake, at a price interval of NT$14.00-19.00 per share from December 21 to February 20, 2017.