Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday said it might post a loss of NT$5.51 to NT$5.85 per share this quarter, after reporting a loss of NT$9.7 per share last quarter.
Revenue is also expected to drop to between NT$19 billion and NT$22 billion (US$598.33 million and US$692.8 million) this quarter, down by between 33.33 percent and 42.42 percent from NT$33 billion last quarter, HTC said.
HTC chief financial officer and president of global sales Chang Chia-lin (張嘉臨) said the forecast for this quarter was a result of a “transition period” for the company’s products.
In addition, fierce global competition in the high-end Android smartphone market has also increased pressure on HTC’s sales performance this quarter, Chang said.
However, HTC plans to launch “a ‘holiday hero’ smartphone with a more fashionable and design later this year,” Chang said during a teleconference.
The company also plans to streamline its product portfolio by reducing the number of entry-level and low-end smartphone products in a bid to make a turnaround, he said.
“We are going to focus more on the premier segment in the smartphone market,” Chang said, adding that HTC aims to pursue better profitability rather than pursuing market share.
“With these measures, we expect a sequential increase in revenue in the fourth quarter of this year,” he said, stressing that HTC aims to break even in the smartphone business in the near future.
HTC reported a net loss of NT$8 billion for last quarter, compared with net income of NT$2.74 billion in the same period last year and NT$360 million in the first quarter.
The firm booked a one-time NT$2.9 billion charge for idle assets and prepaid expenses last quarter, Chang said, adding that HTC would not have similar expenses this quarter.
Commenting on the company’s non-smartphone segments, Chang said HTC foresees business opportunities for Internet-connected devices, such as the GPS-enabled Grip — a wearable device codeveloped with strategic partner Under Armour Inc.
The company recently announced plans to invest nearly US$10 million in US-based virtual-reality (VR) open platform company WEVR Inc.
Chang said HTC plans to launch its first VR headset, Vive, via e-commerce platforms at the end of this year.
HTC expects the VR product to bring revenue growth momentum to the company, he said.
HTC yesterday posted sales of NT$7.4 billion for last month, a drop of 30.15 percent from NT$10.6 billion in the same period last year and 14.64 percent from June’s NT$8.67 billion.
The figure marks HTC’s lowest monthly result in the past 17 months, according to its filings with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
HTC reported that revenue totaled NT$81.94 billion in the first seven months of this year, a decrease of 24.68 percent from NT$108.78 billion in the same period last year.
The company’s shares declined by 1.69 percent to NT$70 in Taipei trading yesterday.
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