HTC Corp (TPE:2498) announced Monday a record-low quarterly profit, which missed analysts’ estimates. The net income for the company plunged almost 98 percent marking the sixth straight decline, reports Bloomberg.
The handset maker’s report card had been severely impacted by the delayed launch of its 2013 flagship smartphone along with fierce competition from Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The unaudited net profit for the smartphone maker came in at NT$85 million ($2.85 million) for the quarter ending March, against NT$1 billion in the prior quarter and NT$10.9 billion in the same period last year. This is the company’s lowest quarterly profits ever reported i.e. since 2004.
The earnings were well below the analyst’s expectations, who estimated the company would report at least NT$465 million net profit. The company reported revenue of NT$42.8 billion, which was again lower than the expected NT$50-60 billion. Revenues for the last quarter was NT$60 billion.
The operating income or income from the core business of making and selling mobile devices decline 99 percent to NT$43 million. The operating margin for the company was 0.1 percent, missing HTC’s forecast for 0.5 percent to 1 percent.
The Taiwanese firm unveiled its latest smartphone, the HTC One, in only three countries last month against 80 countries originally planned. According to the company, HTC One sales will pick up across Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region only after April.
However, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) is planning to roll-out the new Galaxy S4 in 155 countries by the end of April.
HTC Corp (TPE:2498) formed an alliance with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and introduced a new software last week called “Home”. The new software will replace the home screen on some Android smartphones.
According to IT research firm Gartner, HTC Corp (TPE:2498) was the 10th-biggest smartphone maker globally by shipments in the fourth quarter. The stocks of HTC Corporation, over the past 12 month have lost about half of their value. On Monday, before the release of earnings, the shares of the handset maker declined by 2.2 percent.
