Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects the newly introduced iMac lineup to dramatically boot Apple’s desktop shipment numbers, which are forecast to drop 79% year-over-year for Q3.
In a research note to investors obtained by AppleInsider, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimated that Apple’s desktop shipments will be down to 264,000 for the company’s fourth fiscal quarter of 2012, representing a huge 79 percent drop from the year ago period.
Kuo cut his forecast of Mac desktop shipments by over 63% due to the later than expected arrival of the new iMac lineup. Kuo’s supply chain checks in August had pointed to a September launch, however productions problems blamed on low display lamination yields pushed the announcement back to October. That, combined with a ramp-down of the previous models, caused an overall sales plunge.
Kuo does believe that shipments will pick up during the holiday season, seeing sales grow 434% quarter-on-quarter mostly due to the strong demand for the new iMac lineup, set to hit stores in November.
Even with the huge quarter-to-quarter growth, Kuo estimates only 1.4 million iMac shipments at the end of the year, a 5% drop from a year ago.
