Taiwanese smartphone vendor HTC Corp (宏達電) is expected to enjoy sequential sales growth of up to 50 percent in the second quarter with the launch of its new flagship model and its ambitions to penetrate middle-range markets, KGI Securities Investment Advisory Co Ltd (凱基證券投顧) said last week.
KGI Securities said in a recent research note that the latest HTC One M8 and the middle-range HTC Desire 816, which were unveiled last month, should help the company’s sales increase 40 percent to 50 percent in the second quarter.
KGI said the significant sales recovery should also enable HTC to turn a profit in the current quarter after its gross margin improves.
At an investor conference on Feb. 10, HTC said its consolidated sales for the first quarter were likely to range between NT$34 billion (US$1.12 billion) and NT$36 billion, down from NT$42.9 billion in the previous quarter.
Because of the decline in sales, HTC projected a loss per share for the quarter of NT$2.1 to NT$2.6, compared with NT$1.21 in earnings per share in the previous quarter.
In the first two months of the year, HTC’s consolidated sales only totaled NT$16.9 billion, well off the pace of its first-quarter target.
However, analysts said the HTC Desire 816 has been warmly received in China, and the 5-inch HTC One M8 could attract fresh buying in the high-end market, which could help HTC meet its first-quarter guidance. HTC is expected to release last month’s sales data today.
Meanwhile, according to sources from distribution channels in Britain, HTC is planning to launch a smaller version of the M8 model with a 4.5-inch display next month. HTC declined to comment.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
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Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day