UPDATE 1-Compal lowers Q2 laptop shipment growth forecast

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TAIPEI, May 6 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Compal Electronics Inc (2324.TW), the world's second-largest contract laptop PC maker, lowered its shipment growth forecast for the second quarter on Tuesday, blaming a shortage of batteries.

Compal, which supplies to top PC brands such as Dell Inc (DELL.O) and Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N), expects second-quarter shipments to grow about 10 percent from the first quarter, lower than its previous estimate of 13-15 percent growth.

President Ray Chen gave the forecast at an investor conference, where he also said Compal expects second-quarter revenue to rise 5-10 percent from the previous three months.

Compal had said it expects second-quarter shipments to rise 13-15 percent if there is no shortage of batteries.

But Compal's gross profit margin will be flat or better than the first quarter's 4.7 percent, Chen added.

The new forecasts came after the Taipei stock market closed on Tuesday. Compal shares rose 1.5 percent, outpacing the main TAIEX's 0.2 percent gain.

Chen also mentioned the growing pressure from rising prices of raw materials for laptops.

"We are seeing a lot of pressure from rising raw material prices, and we might have to raise prices of our products," he said.

Around 5-10 percent of laptops Compal ships in the second half of the year will be low-cost models, said Chen, who forecast shipments of global low-cost PCs will reach 13 million units this year. No comparison was given.

Compal, which competes with sector leader Quanta Computer Inc (2382.TW), had posted a market-beating first quarter net profit of T$3.209 billion ($106 million) last week, up 23 percent from a year ago and higher than the T$2.9 billion forecast made by Reuters Estimates. (US$1=T$30.5) (Reporting by Sheena Lee; Editing by Baker Li and Ken wills)