Profit HTC drops for the first time in years

The profit of HTC in the fourth quarter with a quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. The manufacturer provides no explanation for the sharp drop in profits, but probably could smartphones not up against the competition.

The profit fell by a quarter to 11 billion Taiwanese dollars, about 283 million euros. This is evident from the first figures of the last quarter of 2011. The sales decreased at a much slower pace, namely by 2.5 percent. It is for the first time in years that the profit of HTC is on the decline: HTC benefited the previous years of the impetuous advance of Android.

The manufacturer mentions no cause for the profit decline, but given the declining revenues affect the manufacturer with falling sales and rising costs. HTC took last autumn in devices with audio technology company Beats Audio, which the 210 million euro invested. The investment, led probably also to the drop in profits. Also brought HTC many different models on the market, which probably has led to higher production costs.

The main releases were the Sensation XE and XL with Android and the Titan and Radar with Windows Phone. In addition, there were still many other models, such as the fashion-focused smartphone Rhyme and budgeting model Explorer. The share of HTC at the fair went out last month also down, mainly due to negative news about patentzaken against Apple.