HTC Posts Lowest Quarterly Profit Since 2006

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By Trey Thoelcke Updated Published
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Today, HTC Corp., once the hot smarpthone firm, reported its lowest quarterly profit since 2006 as it continues to lose market share to competitors Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung Electronics.

HTC reported that its third-quarter net profit came to 3.9 billion New Taiwan dollars ($133 million). That was a sharp 79% decline from NT$18.64 billion in the same period of last year. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal expected a net profit of NT$5.0 billion. Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 totaled NT$70.2 billion, a 48% drop year-over-year.

As recently as 2010 HTC was the largest smartphone maker using Google’s Android operating system. But Samsung overtook HTC in 2011 to become the biggest vendor of Android devices in the United States.

HTC did not disclose its geographical revenue breakdown, but analysts believe the U.S. may have accounted for about half of the company’s revenue and about 40% of its total smart phone shipments last year. The company has been turning to Asia and other emerging markets for growth, but competition is also intensifying in those markets.

Last month, HTC unveiled a pair of new smartphones that use Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system. However, the popularity of the Windows 8 phones remains uncertain, and analysts say the new Windows phones are not likely to help HTC regain its momentum.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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