HTC

HTC continues to lose money; spills $62 million in red ink for Q1 vs. profit the previous year

posted by Alan F. / May 06, 2014, 11:30 PM

HTC continues to lose money; spills $62 million in red ink for Q1 vs. profit the previous year

HTC is in a slump, but there does seem to be a way out. For the first quarter of the year, a period that included some HTC One (M8) sales, the Taiwan based manufacturer had a net loss of $62 million. That compares with a $2.5 million profit made by HTC in the prior year. Revenue, at $1.10 billion, fell short of last year's $1.14 billion, and also did not meet analysts' estimate of $1.12 billion to $1.18 billion for the period.

The second quarter is expected to be a much better one for HTC since it will include more contributions from the HTC One (M8) and the HTC Desire 816. The quarter is expected to turn a net profit for HTC in the range of $60 million to $81.5 million. If HTC can pull this off, it would be a very positive sign that the worst is over for the manufacturer.

Despite the red ink for the January through March period, there were some highlights in the period for HTC. The Europe, Mid East and Africa region saw strong sales of the HTC One (M7), HTC One mini and HTC Desire 500. The HTC One (M8) "dominated" in Taiwan, according to HTC. In China, there was momentum for the HTC One (M8) and the HTC Desire 816, while in India there was momentum for the HTC One (M8) and HTC Desire handsets.

Part of the problem for HTC, especially in the U.S., remains lack of a strong marketing plan. Having actor Gary Oldman repeat the phrase "Blah, Blah Blah," is not going to sell handsets, no matter how strong the pre-launch hype. HTC also has tough competition. While Samsung has a very strong challenger with the Samsung Galaxy S5, the LG G3 is expected to raise the bar with a QHD resolution screen. But HTC might fight back. There is speculation about an HTC One (M8) prime which would feature a 5.5 inch QHD screen, a Snapdragon 805 processor and an 18MP Duo camera.

HTC spills more red ink in Q1

source: HTC via GSMArena

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34 Comments

1. Anshulonweb

Posts: 468; Member since: Feb 07, 2014

lets hope htc gets back on track..... htc m8 and desire 816 are really good devices...

posted on May 06, 2014, 11:54 PM 7

11. itsdeepak4u2000

Posts: 3718; Member since: Nov 03, 2012

They need to do something like Moto G.

posted on May 07, 2014, 12:25 AM 4

26. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

They need to give a name which public will remember Like the Galaxy S4. S3. S2.S5. iP4 iP5 ip3 It needs a brand recognition

posted on May 07, 2014, 6:46 AM 1

28. The-Sailor-Man

Posts: 1095; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

They need to stop selling ALUMINUM, but smartphones. No matter what "hype" make the apple propaganda about the M8 POS, ppl are on the market NOT for ALUMINUM.

posted on May 07, 2014, 8:25 AM 1

33. true1984

Posts: 869; Member since: May 23, 2012

because no bought the m8 right? i think you're confusing people for you.

posted on May 08, 2014, 10:31 AM 0

2. express77 unregistered

That's what happens when flagships comes with 4mp camera.

posted on May 06, 2014, 11:55 PM 21

4. sarb009

Posts: 322; Member since: Jun 15, 2011

Lol!!

posted on May 06, 2014, 11:57 PM 1

10. KillerKeyboard

Posts: 372; Member since: Nov 21, 2013

Lels. The 4mp Camera Law.

posted on May 07, 2014, 12:17 AM 2

24. likemorethan1

Posts: 48; Member since: Aug 22, 2013

lol well let's hope that there is a M8 Prime with 13 ultrapixel camera then

posted on May 07, 2014, 5:33 AM 1

29. The-Sailor-Man

Posts: 1095; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

.....and huge bezels, and mediocre specs and features compare with the competition, and two nonsense ugly cameras, and heavyly sealed "design"

posted on May 07, 2014, 8:29 AM 0

3. maherk

Posts: 6965; Member since: Feb 10, 2012

That's what they get for keeping faith yet again with their marketing team, that bla bla bla isn't as cool as you might thought. The camera has nothing to do with it, I played with the M8 couple of times in t-mobile store, I did end up with an S5, but I loved everything about the M8 (except for the home button placement), but their marketing team sucks big time. Take care of that, and put more money into your build control team and that should lead to something positive.

posted on May 06, 2014, 11:57 PM 8

16. 0xFFFF

Posts: 3806; Member since: Apr 16, 2014

While HTC marketing is terrible, that 4MP camera is even more terrible :) I agree that HTC really mucked up the front panel of the phone. They had plenty of space for three capacative buttons, but decided to use onscreen buttons... reducing effective screen size/resolution. Not really so great.

posted on May 07, 2014, 1:24 AM 2

30. The-Sailor-Man

Posts: 1095; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

Not the markitung is the HTC's problem. The problem is that they have NOTHING for marketing. Or ALUMINUM??? LOL

posted on May 07, 2014, 8:31 AM 0

5. shamatuu

Posts: 159; Member since: Nov 02, 2011

At least there not Blackberry which have less than 1 percent for market share of OS.

posted on May 07, 2014, 12:02 AM 4

6. NokiaFTW

Posts: 2072; Member since: Oct 24, 2012

HTC had the chance to absolutely blow every other Android OEM's flagships out of the water if they had put up a better camera. Even a normal 8MP sensor with good optics would have been enough. But they chose to stick with ultrapixel gimmick. Hence, they'll lose the battle again this year to the S5, the G3 & the Z2.

posted on May 07, 2014, 12:06 AM 9

7. RaKithAPeiRiZ

Posts: 1488; Member since: Dec 29, 2011

or they could have added 2 8mp sensors or the 13-20mp lenses sony sells , HTC is collecting some of their customer data from wrong sources , people care about specs , not refinement

posted on May 07, 2014, 12:10 AM 0

9. KillerKeyboard

Posts: 372; Member since: Nov 21, 2013

^ HTC (Had The Chance) =D

posted on May 07, 2014, 12:14 AM 19

12. NokiaFTW

Posts: 2072; Member since: Oct 24, 2012

LOL +1

posted on May 07, 2014, 12:26 AM 3

15. express77 unregistered

HTC - Hate The Camera.

posted on May 07, 2014, 1:05 AM 11

20. 0xFFFF

Posts: 3806; Member since: Apr 16, 2014

or Half The Camera

posted on May 07, 2014, 2:43 AM 4

17. Miracles

Posts: 560; Member since: Aug 31, 2013

HTC - Hate Tim Cook

posted on May 07, 2014, 2:10 AM 5

19. KillerKeyboard

Posts: 372; Member since: Nov 21, 2013

HTC - Hate Those Commercials

posted on May 07, 2014, 2:23 AM 5

31. jroc74

Posts: 6023; Member since: Dec 30, 2010

Them losing money has nothing to do with the camera, or a feature.... Samsung dominates because they also do low and mid range phones. HTC does too....but somehow they arent making any progress with it. Marketing is probably HTC's biggest problem. I remember when the Rezound was out....many ppl didnt like the ads, commercials for it. It focused more on Beats headphones, Beats music app than the phone. Another thing we have to remember is with Samsung making so many components of phones....they should in theory loose less money than others since they are not purchasing the parts but making them.