HTC’s sales in October dropped 5.8% sequentially but were 5% higher year on year at NT$15.7 billion ($513.3 million). Last month’s results brought sales so far this year to NT$155.8 billion ($5.1 billion), down 11.2% compared to the same period of last year.
The company said that it was expecting to see a significant increase in handset shipment volume in the fourth quarter and has predicted turnover in Q4 of between NT$43-47 billion ($1.4-1.5 billion). HTC also expects to report its third consecutive net profit in Q4, having achieved a net profit in Q3 of NT$604 million ($19.7 million), compared with a net loss of NT$2.9 billion ($94.8 million) a year earlier.
HTC is looking to strengthen its mid-range portfolio of phones in a bid to reverse years of falling sales, having once been the world’s top smartphone manufacturer by volume. Samsung also said last week that it would pursue a new strategy aimed at the mid to low-end smartphone market, targeting stronger growth in emerging Asian markets (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 43).
