World's Largest Maker of MP3 Players Quadruples Profits in 2003 Feb 3, 2004

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ReignCom Ltd., the world's largest MP3 player maker, announced that its net profit quadrupled last year on an annual basis thanks to increased demand at home and abroad.

Net income jumped 410 percent to 41.3 billion won (approx. U.S. $35.2 million) compared with the previous year, the company said in a statement.

Sales rose 187 percent annually to 229.5 billion won, according to the statement.

The company said it will pay full-year dividends of 500 won per share to its stockholders.

ReignCom, known for its sleek portable MP3 player "iRiver," said it targeted 412.3 billion won in sales in 2004, up almost 80 percent from last year.

The company sells MP3 players that store music on flash-memory chips. Unlike hard drive-based gadgets, which can hold up 10,000 or more songs, the flash-memory players are popular among consumers who don't need extremely large MP3 capacity.

In general, flash-memory players can hold up to about 200 digital songs. As more and more people download music files from the Internet instead of buying compact discs in stores, demand for MP3 players will grow, analysts say.

According to a recent report by market research firm NPD Group, ReignCom held 21.5 percent of the global flash-memory MP3 player market as of end of last November. (Yonhap)

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