HTC Corp (宏達電), manufacturer of the world’s first Android phone, yesterday remained upbeat about its business outlook this year, saying inventory was not a concern, in a move to appease jitters that unexpectedly strong second-quarter demand could lead to a slack third quarter.
“I am not worried about inventory. I’m more worried about being unable to make enough products ... Customers are chasing after me [asking for more shipments],” HTC chief executive Peter Chou (周永明) told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of a new Android phone, HTC Desire.
“And there is a component shortage problem,” Chou said.
HTC expects shipments in the current quarter to grow more than 36 percent to 4.5 million units, from last quarter’s 3.3 million units, on the back of a broader product lineup.
This is far more than most analysts’ forecasts, such as Lu Chia-lin (呂家霖) at Macquarie Securities, who expects a 10 to 15 percent rise in shipments.
“Such a strong second-quarter is unusual and we believe it is being driven by channel sell-in and this has already been priced in [reflected in the stock price],” said Vincent Chen (李豊丰), a PC and handset analyst with Yuanta Securities (元大證券).
On rising concern of a dip in the third quarter following a strong second quarter, Chen cut his shipment forecast for HTC this year by 7 percent to 16.3 million units, from his previous estimate of 17.5 million units, according to a report dated April 29.
Separately, HTC expects to make more progress in China. The company hopes to double its shipments to the Chinese market by launching more models in collaboration with Chinese telecom operators such as China Mobile Ltd (中國移動), said Jason Juang (莊正松), an executive vice president of HTC’s global sales division.
HTC aims to sell at least 1 million phones in China this year, Juang said.
Last year, HTC failed to reach its sales target of 800,000 units, Juang said. He declined to provide specific sales figures.
HTC plans to sell its first entry-level smartphone, dubbed HTC Smart, in China next month, after the debut in other emerging markets like India last week.
The company plans to supply up to six models to China Mobile this year, up from two last year, he said.
HTC shares rallied 3.36 percent to NT$446, beating the benchmark TAIEX, which slid 0.27 percent yesterday.
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