HTC Profits Drop 83%

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Taiwan-based HTC has reported quarterly profits that are 83 percent lower than last year. Still, the numbers were quite a bit better than HTC’s record-setting losses in the first quarter of this year.

Bloomberg’s Tim Culpan and Yu-Huay Sun reported, “HTC Corp. (2498), the Taiwanese smartphone maker, posted second-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates as the release of its flagship One handset failed to end a slide in sales. Net income fell to NT$1.25 billion ($42 million) in the three months ended June, the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company said in preliminary earnings released today. That is down 83 percent from a year earlier and compares with the NT$2.17 billion average of 19 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Eva Dou noted, “Once the leading Android smartphone maker in the U.S., HTC is attempting to rebound with its high-end HTC One smartphone and heavier marketing outlay. Despite strong reviews for the new handset, HTC’s growth momentum for the second half of the year has come under question after analysts predicted that sales of the One had peaked in May. The specter of slowing momentum has prompted a selloff in HTC stock in the past month, with HTC’s stock price closing at NT$203 on Friday, compared with a recent closing high of NT$290.50 on June 3.”

TechCrunch’s Natasha Lomas observed, “The latest results put a dampener on some more positives signs last month. HTC’s sales in May surged 48.03% — its best uplift all year — but monthly revenues for June took a considerable dive, down 23.88% month-on-month and 26.43% year-on-year. That’s a worrying sign for the company which has been banking on its flagship HTC One handset keeping the tills ringing as it works to expand its portfolio, reconfigure its senior management team and reboot its marketing strategy.”

VentureBeat’s Ricardo Bilton found the positives in the HTC results, writing, “What’s most notable, though, is how HTC second quarter compares to its dismal first quarter, when it pulled in a record-low $2.8 million. A 1364 percent increase in profit quarter-to-quarter isn’t something to take lightly. That HTC managed to do so well is its own kind of miracle…. So things could, in a very real sense, be a lot worse. But will they get better?”