Profits at handset manufacturer HTC fell by 79 percent during Q3 2012. According to the company’s financial statement it earned $2.05 billion in revenue for a profit of $133 million.Year-over-year revenue has slumped by 48 percent which caused the massive slump in profits.
The Taiwanese manufacturer said in a public statement that it is expecting an equally gloomy Q4. HTC expects revenue to drop an additional 14.5 percent and the devices manufacturer also expects gross margin to fall by 23 percent and operating margins to lose 1 percent. Those numbers will be down by 25 percent and 7 percent as HTC has been forced to cut device pricing in order to gain sales momentum.
HTC has faced increased competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung thanks to the popularity of iOS and Google Android based smartphones. Samsung reported a record profit of $7.4 billion for the quarter. Samsung’s big profit push has come from its Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone, a direct competitor to HTC devices.
In the meantime while HTC supports several Google Android based devices it has placed much of its future hopes on Windows Phone smartphones. Devices in the Windows line include Windows Phone 8X and the Windows Phone 8S.
HTC once ruled the smartphone space but was slow to adapt as new technologies became available. The company’s designs have also recently left something to be desired. HTC still heavily relies on its HTC Sense UI for Google Android, a platform that appears unfamiliar for many already established Google Android smartphone customers who are looking to make the switch to a new device.
