Taiwan’s HTC sails into stormy waters

Added by Editor on 7 February 2012.
Saved under International
Tags: , ,

The next quarter will be tough going for Taiwan’s HTC as it tries to recover from its first big fall in profits in two years.

HTC reported revenues of NT$101,42bn for the fourth quarter, but the company projects revenues of up to 36% less in the first quarter, from NT$65bn to NT$70bn (US$2,20bn-$2,37bn).

HTC previously announced that its profits fell in the fourth quarter, so this news is basically the other shoe that we’ve been waiting to see drop.

The company says it’s waiting for new models to turn its fortunes, and that the downturn will only be a short-lived problem, but the next quarter is still going to be a major issue. The quarterly projection is far off from the $3,04bn analysts were expecting, Reuters reports.

“Our weakness in first-quarter guidance also comes from facing competition in the US from iPhone and Samsung,” said HTC chief financial officer Winston Yung in a conference call today. “LTE handsets also didn’t meet our expectations.”

Indeed, HTC is now facing competition from all corners, and the only way it can survive is by reshaping its smartphone strategy. The company has already said that it instead of releasing a ton of phones this year, it’s going to focus on a smaller number of high-quality “hero” devices. Such a strategy will help consumers better differentiate HTC’s new devices, but HTC will also need to work double-time to make sure it can outdo Samsung and Apple.  — Devindra Hardawar, VentureBeat

Share this article

Why TechCentral?

We know that as a prospective advertiser, you are spoilt for choice. Our job is to demonstrate why TechCentral delivers the best return for your advertising spend.

TechCentral is South Africa’s online technology news leader. We don’t say that lightly. We believe we produce the country’s best and most insightful online tech news aimed at industry professionals and those interested in the fast-changing world of technology.

We provide news, reviews and comment, without fear or favour, that is of direct relevance to our fast-expanding audience. Proportionately, we provide the largest local audience of all technology-focused online publishers.

We do not constantly regurgitate press releases to draw in search engine traffic — we believe websites that do so are doing their readers and advertisers a disservice. Nor do we sell “editorial features”, offer advertising “press offices” or rely on online bulletin-board forums of questionable value to advertisers to bolster our traffic.

TechCentral, which is edited and written by award-winning South African journalists, cares about delivering top-quality content to draw in the business and consumer readers that are of most interest to technology advertisers.

We’d like the opportunity to demonstrate the value of directing a portion of your advertising budget to TechCentral, whether your company is in the technology field or not. Numerous opportunities exist for companies interested in reaching our audience of key decision-makers in South Africa’s dynamic information and communications technology sector. We offer packages that will deliver among the best returns on investment available in the online technology news space.

For more information about advertising opportunities, and how your organisation can benefit by publicising itself on TechCentral, please call us on 011-792-0449 during office hours. Or send us an e-mail and ask for our latest rate card and brochure.