Unaudited numbers from HTC for November are in and the Taiwan based handset manufacturer not out of the woods yet. HTC has reported revenues of NT $15.47 billion ($522 million USD) for November as Android Central is reporting. Though this figure is 3.22% higher sequentially, on a year-on-year basis the revenues are down by roughly 27.1%.
According to industry watchers, the numbers have met market expectation. Though there is little cause for celebration at HTC. In the first quarter (Q1), HTCs financial performance had been dismal when they managed to pull in just $2.88 Million in after-tax profits. Expectations with the HTC One flagship device were high, which helped somewhat for the second quarter. HTC’s current flagship device – the HTC One was pictured as the turn-around device for the company, and though it received rave reviews from customers and critics alike, the device was overshadowed by the Samsung Galaxy S4. Much of the blame for this failure lies at HTC’s doors as they had failed to anticipate logistical and component procurement delays. As a result, even though it had launched after the HTC One, the Samsung Galaxy S4 overtook the One in sales.
During the first eleven months of 2013, HTC revenues have amounted to NT $190.97 billion – a decrease of 28.6% from the previous year. HTC has said that it expects their revenues to slide 4.25 to 14.89% sequentially to NT $40-45 billion in the fourth quarter. A major factor in this decline is the fact that HTC has not planned any device releases for the fourth quarter; barring the HTC One Max. HTC is expected to ship 5.2 million smartphones in the fourth quarter, which is (again) a decrease of 16.2% from the previous quarter.
HTC’s decline has not been too gradual, though major factors include waning market share in the US and Europe; coupled with a poor marketing strategy – which included burning off $12 million on a poorly executed ad campaign involving Hollywood Star Robert “Iron Man” Downey Jr. HTC has recently re-assigned the responsibilities of CEO Peter Chou, moving up the marketing function to Chairwoman and co-founder Cher Wang.
Do you think HTC would bounce back, or whether the other OEMs would ensure that HTC rests in pieces? Do shout it out in the comments section below.