iPod manufacturer sees revenue double

Inventec Appliances Corp., one of the principal suppliers of Apple's iPod music players, reported its revenue more than doubled in the first half of this year.

The Taiwanese company's revenue rose to NT$47.9 billion (US$1.47 billion) during the six-month period ending June 30, from NT$22.3 billion during the same time last year. Inventec Appliances' net income rose to NT$1.4 billion (US$42.9 million) from NT$913 million.

"About 80 percent to 90 percent of first-half sales were in contract manufacturing," said a company representative. Inventec Appliances does not comment on customer products, she said. The company also makes its own mobile phones and markets them under the OKWAP brand.

The company's revenue increased largely thanks to growing iPod sales, said Frank Lee, an industry analyst at Deutsche Bank in Taipei.

Apple Computer Inc. recently reported the best financial quarter in its history thanks mainly to the iPod. The company said it sold 6.15 million iPods during its third quarter, which ended June 25. For the first half of this year, the company sold around 11.46 million of the popular digital music players.

The rest of the year could be even better for both companies. Apple may sell 7.1 million iPods in its current quarter, which closes near the end of September, according to American Technology Research.