Oh, HTC, there doesn’t seem to be end in sight to your plight, does there? The company has really had it rough lately and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that it’d be a real shame to see such a great company go under, especially when the Android market thrives on choice. it’s perhaps a little upsetting then, to hear word that the shortages effecting the HTC One’s launch, could continue right up until the end of April. The average consumer might not ever read this, or anything concerning the problems in producing the One but, they will know that it’s been delayed and delays are never good to hear and they really don’t help solidify your brand name.
A little delay here and there might not seem like much of problem but, it’s becoming more than just a headache for HTC as it’s beginning to effect the company’s financials as we move into Q2 of 2013. Focus Taiwan are reporting that Investment analyst Macquarie Securities have downgraded their shipping estimates of the One from the 1.5 – 2 Million units range, to the 1 to 1.5 Million units range. That’s a big drop and right now, HTC need to be able to ship and sell every unit they can do.
The same firm is forecasting HTC’s consolidated sales between January and March to reach just NT$48 billion (New Taiwan Dollars) which certainly looks like a big number but, HTC had given an initial sales target of somewhere between NT$50 and NT$60 billion back in February. Missing targets like this isn’t good for any company but, when you really need to start the year off strong, it couldn’t get much worse. JP Morgan Chase have also lowered expectations to just NT$45 billion.
With the Galaxy S IV set to launch really soon, this isn’t good news for HTC, they’ve relied heavily on being first out of the gate and not only does it seem to have not paid off but, they can’t even ship the device in great numbers. A lot of folks will have been waiting to see what Samsung have to offer and while HTC could have swayed them away with the One, whispers of delays and such can’t of helped. I know that waiting for a device is a turn-off, I had to wait around 3 – 4 months for my HTC Desire as they moved from AMOLED to SLCD displays because they couldn’t keep up with demand. HTC need to get the One out there if they want to be taken seriously again.