Smartphone vendor HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday posted its lowest quarterly profit on record for the first quarter of the year, as the company struggled to ship new products on time.
First-quarter net profit shrank 15 percent quarter-on-quarter and 91.5 percent year-on-year to NT$850 million (US$28 million) last quarter, with earnings per share of NT$0.1, the company said in a statement.
Due to delayed shipment of the new HTC One — the Taoyuan-based company’s latest offering to try to reinvigorate its sales growth momentum after losing part of its market share to the US’ Apple Inc and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co — HTC’s first-quarter sales fell 36.88 percent year-on-year to NT$42.79 billion from NT$67.79 billion a year earlier.
First-quarter sales were also 14.42 percent short of the company’s forecast of between NT$50 billion and NT$60 billion.
Last month alone, consolidated revenue grew 39.67 percent month-on-month to NT$15.88 billion from NT$11.37 billion in February.
However, the figure was 48.57 percent lower than the NT$30.88 billion in the same period last year.
“The smartphone market is getting too competitive. The new HTC One seemed to boost the company’s sales by one month only because of shorter product cycles in the market,” Hua Nan Securities Co (華南永昌投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said by telephone yesterday.
Following the launch of the HTC One in London and New York, HTC said the product would be available as early as the middle of last month, but because of shortages in metal musings and other key components, shipments of the new model were delayed until late last month.
Chu said HTC would resolve the problem of key component shortages as soon as possible in order to maintain its consumer base.
“Samsung’s new flagship smartphone Galaxy S4 is hitting the market, followed by Apple’s iPhone 5S. HTC might be able to see the new HTC One drive up its monthly sales to NT$20 billion this month, but whether the product can extend the company’s product cycle remains the question,” Chu said.
Meanwhile, Catcher Technology Co (可成科技), which supplies metal casings for HTC’s new product and Apple’s iPhones, on Sunday said its sales last month reached a record high of NT$3.88 billion.
The figure reflects a 88.9 percent month-on-month expansion and a 28.5 percent year-on-year increase.
During the period from January to last month, Catcher’s consolidated revenue fell 6.9 percent quarter-on-quarter from NT$9.91 billion in the fourth quarter of last year to NT$9.23 billion, which met the company’s estimate of a between 5 percent and 10 percent.
On an annual basis, the first-quarter number represents a 6.7 percent increase from NT$8.66 billion.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS