Smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday posted an operating profit of NT$180 million (US$5.63 million) and net profit of NT$470 billion, marking a third straight profitable quarter last quarter.
The NT$470 billion in net profit marked a rise of 51.6 percent year-on-year, but was lower than the NT$640 million made in the previous quarter. Earnings per share (EPS) were NT$0.57 for last quarter, which beat the firm’s previous forecast of between NT$0.07 and NT$0.46.
Overall, HTC reported NT$1.81 in EPS for the whole of last year.
The firm reported losses of NT$1.6 per share in the previous year.
Still, analysts have warned that HTC has a long way to go before regaining lost ground to rivals Samsung Electronics Co and Apple Inc, as well as Chinese peers, such as Xiaomi Corp (小米), Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) and Huawei Technologies Co (華為).
In October last year, HTC said it was searching for new ways to appeal to customers and find fresh revenue streams with the launch of new products.
During the quarter spanning from October to December, the firm launched several new products, including the Desire Eye smartphone, the social video-editing application Zoe and its first camera RE, as well as the Nexus 9 tablet, through close collaboration with Google Inc.
That brought the company’s quarterly revenues to NT$47.86 billion (US$1.49 billion) last quarter, up 14.33 percent from the previous quarter’s NT$41.86 billion and 11.58 percent from NT$42.89 a year earlier. The quarterly figure also beat its estimate of between NT$43 billion and NT$47 billion.
For the whole of last year, the company’s consolidated revenues totaled NT$187.91 billion, declining 7.62 percent from the previous year’s NT$203.4 billion.
Separately, HTC launched its new mid-priced smartphone, the Desire 826, at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, which brings its UltraPixel technology to the front camera, allowing users to take selfies in any kind of light.
The product is also equipped with Dolby Audio surround sound, featuring the first dual front-facing stereo speakers on a smartphone, the company said.
HTC said the Desire 826 will be available with mobile operators and major retailers in Asia-Pacific at the end of this month and in other regions in the subsequent months.
HTC North Asia president Jack Tong (董俊良) earlier said that the company expects double-digit annual revenue growth from Taiwan’s market this year.
The company’s shares closed at NT$141 in Taipei trading yesterday, down 1.4 percent from the previous day, but outperforming the TAIEX, which lost 2.43 percent.
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