TAIPEI: Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp swung to better-than-expected profit in the third quarter from a heavy loss a year earlier, as cost cuts helped it offset the impact of still-sluggish sales.
HTC said it earned T$640m ($21m) in unaudited net profit during the July-September quarter, well above a T$216.23m mean estimate of 13 analysts. In the same period a year earlier, it turned in a loss of T$3bn.
The company makes devices, such as its flagship One M8, that consistently garner accolades from critics but fail to lure customers. The former contract manufacturer has struggled to maintain a distinctive brand image in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
HTC said during its last quarterly earnings briefing that improved efficiency in its sales and marketing operations would help the company maintain profitability in July-September after booking losses in third quarter 2013 and the first quarter of this year. Sales in July dropped 33 percent from the same month a year earlier, but recovered to rise by 10 percent in August compared with the year-earlier month, the company has said.
HTC’s sales in September fell 7.9 percent on year to T$16.7bn, the company said in a separate release on Friday, adding year-to-date revenue through September was down 13 percent to T$140 billion.
While HTC’s sales slip, the overall smartphone market is buoyant. Researcher IDC predicts worldwide smartphone shipments will expand by 24 percent this year, while Silicon Valley powerhouse Apple Inc moved a record number of new iPhones during the models’ first weekend of sales.
Reuters
