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HTC Corp, Taiwan’s largest smartphone maker, reported Friday an 83 per cent year-on-year decline in second-quarter earnings, amid production delays and a saturating smartphone market.
Net income was 1.25 billion Taiwan dollars ($ 41.7 million) on revenues of 70.7 billion Taiwan dollars for the quarter, the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company reported.
Once the pioneer and leader of Android-based smartphones, HTC has seen a fall from grace, losing Android dominance to Samsung Electronics Co, and seeing its global market share of smartphones drop to 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, putting it in 11th place, according to research firm Gartner Inc.
This compared with third place in the third quarter of 2011, with a 10.3-per-cent market share, according to research firm IDC.
Shipment of its latest flagship smartphone, the HTC One, was delayed nearly two months into April by production problems, causing profits to drop to a record low of 85 million Taiwan dollars in the first quarter.
Observers also said the market for high-end smartphones is approaching saturation, with rivals Samsung and Apple Inc recently announcing earnings below analysts’ expectations.
At 203 Taiwan dollars per share Friday, HTC’s stock price has dropped 84 per cent since a peak in April 2011.
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