HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday blamed its expanding quarterly losses, which grew to NT$2.6 billion (US$84.18 million) last quarter, on the lack of traction for its new blockchain phone and virtual reality (VR) headsets.
It lost NT$3.1 billion in the third quarter of last year, while it posted losses of NT$2.1 billion for the second quarter of this year.
The smartphone maker has been locked in a spiral of quarterly losses for about three years, except for the first quarter of this year, when it booked net profit of NT$21.1 billion after selling its handset manufacturing team to Alphabet Inc’s Google for US$1.1 billion.
HTC is still struggling to return to the black, although its operating losses narrowed to NT$2.8 billion last quarter.
It posted operating losses of NT$3.4 billion for the second quarter and NT$3.3 billion a year earlier, company data showed.
Its operating margin dipped to minus-68.9 percent last quarter from minus-50.7 percent in the second quarter, compared with minus-20.9 percent in the third quarter of last year.
Its gross margin improved for a second straight quarter to 4.7 percent from 2.7 percent in the second quarter, but was still down from 10 percent in the same period last year.
Revenue plunged to NT$4 billion from NT$6.8 billion in the previous quarter and NT$15.7 billion a year earlier.
HTC said it would continue to invest in research and development as well as on expanding its VR ecosystem.
It launched the mid-range HTC U12 life last month and is to start shipping its first blockchain phone Exodus 1 next month.
HTC is accepting pre-orders for the Exodus 1 in cryptocurrencies only, at the price of 0.15 bitcoins, or 4.78 ethers.
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
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