HTC Horror Show: Profit Dive -80%

Even the Green man can’t save HTC: One XL maker profit tumbles 80% as it struggles against Samsung and Apple.

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HTC’s unaudited results for 3Q, released yesterday, read like a horror show, with net profit (after tax) almost halved to NT$3.9 billion – down from NT$7.40 bn in Q2. This marked an 80% slump with Q3 2011.

HTC revenues also took a massive dive hitting NT$70.2 billion (US$2.4bn) marking a fall of over NT$20bn from Q2, although it was in line with forecasts made by the company in August.

HTC’s September sales have also slumped a phenomenal -53% from 2011 to NT21,133 , it announced yesterday. Even compared to August, sales fell 12%.

HTC sales have slumped every month since the beginning of 2012, but the last three months have shown the most marked decline.

Once the Android darling, the One XL maker has been surpassed by fellow Android brand Samsung and Apple’s iPhone in the smartphone market, now dubbed a “two horse race” by analysts.

HTC is currently the No. 2 Android brand in Australia, but its results paint a very different picture from rival Samsung’s record quarterly profit of A$7.16 bn, nearly double the figure for the same quarter last year, announced this week, as its Galaxy smartphones sell like hot cakes.

HTC’s high-spec new releases One X and One XL have sold well here in Australia , IDC analysts told SmartHouse this week.

Although HTC does well here, a brand Telstra has pushed for some time, it’s not enough to stop the slippery slope it is on globally, although it is still growing fast in smartphone hungry China.

Last month, the Taiwanese giant announced 4G ready HTC 8X and 8S Windows 8 phones as it looks to capitalise on the potential hype around Microsoft’s new OS.

HTC’s operating income was NT$4.9 billion, unaudited earnings per share after tax were NT$4.70 based on 831,227 thousand weighted average number of shares, it also announced yesterday.