HTC shares down on profits news

Shares in HTC were down in Taiwan today.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The share price of mobile phone manufacturer HTC was down today (January 6th) after the company released its latest financial statement.

It was announced by the firm yesterday that its net profit for the October to December quarter was NT$300m (£6 million), which failed to meet the expectations of analysts.

Shares slipped by four per cent on the back of the news during trading in Taiwan today, although they later recovered and ended the session 3.61 per cent down on the start of the day.

HTC stocks have now lost three-quarters of their value in the last two years as the firm has lost ground on market rivals such as Apple, Samsung and Google. HTC is not the only smartphone company to have struggled in recent years, as BlackBerry has also found it difficult to adapt and recently confirmed global creative director Alicia Keys is leaving the role after just one year.

Chinese smartphone makers have eroded HTC's shares of the sector in the last few years and the arrival of firms such as Google into the marketplace have reduced HTC's relevance as well.

HTC's market position

According to data from research firm Gartner, HTC's global share of the smartphone market used to be more than ten per cent, but this has slipped in the last three years and is now only a little over two per cent.

Although HTC's products still tend to be well received by critics when they are released, the company has struggled to convert this positive reception into sales, with smartphones such as the iPhone from Apple and the Samsung Galaxy series continuing to dominate the sector.

Google recently caused a splash in the industry as well when the company snapped up struggling manufacturer Motorola. Google already makes the Nexus line of smartphones in conjunction with LG, but the purchase of Motorola indicated it has grand plans for the sector.

The search engine company is also behind the dominant Android operating system, which most phones apart from the iPhone now run on.

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