HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday said it expects its sales this quarter to improve from last quarter, thanks to contributions from its financial restructuring and newly launched flagship smartphone.
However, the company, for the first time, declined to provide financial guidance for the coming quarters, citing the dynamics of the industry this year.
“We can only say that we expect revenue and income to have incremental improvements from last quarter,” HTC chief financial officer Chang Chia-lin (張嘉臨) told a teleconference.
HTC reported a net loss of NT$4.48 billion (US$136.58 million), or NT$5.41 per share, for last quarter, in line with the company’s financial forecast and less than the second quarter’s loss of NT$8.03 billion, or NT$9.7 per share.
Third-quarter revenue plunged 48.92 percent year-on-year and 35.15 percent from the previous quarter to NT$21.4 billion, the lowest sales performance since the third quarter of 2005.
Chang said the company would not return to profitability this quarter, but the scale of net loss is expected to continue to contract from last quarter.
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) on Oct. 21 forecast HTC’s sales this quarter to grow 12.24 percent from last quarter to NT$24.02 billion, with loss per share to shrink to NT$2.5.
Commenting on HTC’s new One A9 smartphone, Chang said market reactions are positive and the company expects higher shipments for the flagship handset.
HTC has completed the first phase of its financial restructuring, including a cut of 15 percent of its global workforce, Chang said.
HTC hopes to complete the restructuring in the first quarter of next year, he said.
When asked whether HTC would sell its plant in Shanghai to reduce operating costs, Chang said: “HTC will definitely have its own manufacturing factory. That is our belief.”
HTC operates two factories in Shanghai and Taoyuan.
The company is to launch its first virtual reality headset, the “Vive,” in December and it expects Internet of Things products to contribute meaningful revenue next year, Chang said.
In the meantime, the company would fine-tune its smartphone strategy and streamline its product portfolio, he added.
HTC shares grew 1.68 percent to NT$78.5 in Taipei trading, outperforming the TAIEX, which lost 0.2 percent.
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