TAIPEI: Taiwan smartphone maker HTC said Friday that net profit in April-June dived 83 percent year on year, although it was a slight improvement from the record low seen in the previous three months.
The result comes as the firm struggles to turn things around with its high-end HTC One smartphone and heavier marketing strategy.
Unaudited net profit in the second quarter came in at Tw$1.25 billion or $41.67 million, compared with Tw$7.4 billion a year ago but up sharply from the Tw$85 million in January-March, the company said.
Revenue fell 22 percent to Tw$70.7 billion year-on-year but surged 65 percent from quarter to quarter and was line with its own forecast of Tw$70.0 billion.
Chief executive officer Peter Chou predicted a sharp rise in second-quarter revenue thanks to the HTC One, which he said had received "overwhelmingly positive" reviews since its launch in February.
He hailed it as a "technological breakthrough" as the company battles to win a piece of the sector that is dominated by Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy S4.
However, analysts suggest sales of the phone peaked in May.
And the firm has a fight on its hands.
Research firm IDC said the company held a 4.6 percent share of the global smartphone market in 2012, a sharp decline from 8.8 percent a year earlier.
Samsung held a 30.3 percent stake while Apple had 19.1 percent.
HTC sells its own smartphones and also makes handsets for a number of leading US companies, including supplying Google's Nexus One. (AFP)
