HTC reported a net loss of TWD 8.0 billion in the second quarter, versus a profit of TWD 2.3 billion a year earlier, hurt by a sharp fall in sales and an asset impairment charge of TWD 2.9 billion. HTC said it suffered from weak demand at the high end of the Android smartphone market as well as lower-than-expected sales in China. Revenues nearly halved, to TWD 33.0 billion from TWD 65.1 billion a year ago. The gross margin dropped to 19.3 percent from 22.2 in the year-earlier period and 19.7 in Q1 this year.
HTC said it started a company-wide focus on reducing costs and optimising the use of resources. It continues to invest in new product areas though, notably virtual reality, where it plans to launch the HTC Vive glasses later this year. For the third quarter, the company forecast a further slide in sales, to TWD 19-22 billion compared to TWD 41.9 billion a year earlier. The gross margin is estimated at 19.0-19.5 percent and EPS at a loss of TWD 5.51-5.85.
