HTC Q1 profit plummets following HTC One delay
It looks like the HTC One delay put the Taiwanese manufacturer in a tough spot in regards to its Q1’2013 earnings numbers as the company has posted record lows for the quarter. According to the latest report from Taoyuan, HTC only gained about $2.8 million last quarter. It’s still a profit, but it’s HTC’s lowest in years and it’s the sixth-straight quarter this company has gone in the wrong direction.
The HTC One was originally scheduled to be released early March according to previous rumors, but the OEM missed its mark when it faced component shortages (namely the Ultrapixel camera that is being heralded). While some pre-orderers have already received the device in European markets, retailers are having a hard time fulfilling orders in a timely manner. Clove UK’s stock has been backordered to about two weeks last we heard, with the black version of the device not even available for a couple of days from now.
Couple those issues with the fact that major North American markets have yet to see a release (pre-sales are commencing as we speak) and you can see why things have been tough for HTC so far in 2013. HTC has a chance to right the ship in Q2, but the impact of the full-scale launch of the HTC One might not yield as big of a return as if it launched on time. HTC’s delays gave Samsung a chance to retaliate last month when it revealed the Samsung Galaxy S4, and with a huge grasp on mind and market share the South Korean manufacturer might be able to steal a significant amount of sales.
HTC will also look to rely on the HTC First, the first smartphone which will feature Facebook Home. It was announced and shown off at Facebook Home’s unveiling last week, and while the phone is a big departure from HTC’s normal Sense-centric affair its banner as a “Facebook phone” might help capture interest. We have a feeling HTC is more focused on getting the HTC One train rolling a bit faster than it is, though, so we’ll keep our microscope focused on that throughout the next couple of months.
[via Bloomberg]