AU Optronics, the world's third-largest flat panel maker, said its net profit for 2004 stood at 27.96 billion Taiwan dollars (879 million US), compared with a forecast of 29.15 billion dollars.

AU Optronics's 2003 net profit stood at 15.66 billion dollars.

Sales, however, came in at 164.6 billion dollars against a projection of 162.4 billion dollar.

The company said in September the outlook for the industry in the fourth quarter was uncertain due to rising oil prices and their impact on global demand.

AU Optronics, Taiwan's leading manufacturer of TFT liquid crystal display screens, ranks third in the world after Samsung and LG Philips of South Korea.

Meanwhile, Acer Inc., the world's fifth-largest brand-name personal computer vendor, said its 2004 net profit came in at 7.0 billion Taiwan dollars (220 million US), falling short of its original forecast of 7.34 billion dollars.

Acer's 2003 profit amounted to 7.31 billion dollars on sales of 81.66 billion dollars.

Sales in 2004 were much higher than forecast, at 129.11 billion dollars compared with 110 billion dollars, it added.

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