DailyTech - HTC's Woes Continue as it Posts Big Earnings Miss

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Gadgets HTC's Woes Continue as it Posts Big Earnings Miss
Jason Mick (Blog) - October 8, 2012 10:40 AM

19 comment(s) - last by andrewaggb.. on Oct 9 at 12:32 PM

So much for the "recovery"

HTC Corp.'s (TPE:2498) latest unaudited earnings release on Monday left more troubling questions than palatable answers, as the company posted a large miss.

According to Financial Times' survey of 23 analysts, the average expectation was around $5.4B TWD (Taiwanese dollars; 1 TWD = 0.034 USD). Instead HTC posted a miserable $4B TWD -- a serious warning sign that the company may have hit a major pothole along the road to recovery.

HTC's profit was approximately 50 percent lower than it was last year. Q3 2011 was HTC's last strong quarter. Fueled by sales of its popular Android handsets, the company cheered strong sales and sustained growth last year as it briefly topped U.S. sales charts, according to some analyst estimates.

But in Q4 2011 the company posted a huge earnings miss, and the string of bad financials has continued ever since, driven by slumping sales.

The company's reported revenue was $70.2B TWD ($2.4B USD).

The company's short-term turnaround prospects hedge on a colorful pair of Windows Phone 8 handsets (the 8S and 8X) and a high end Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" offering (the Tegra 3 quad-core, 4.7-inch display One X+, which also packs LTE support).

_{The HTC One X+ [Image Source: Anandtech]}

HTC in many ways has been among the most aggressive players in the industry in terms of pursuing tangible hardware-level differentiation in its handsets. Recent models include special image processing hardware that allow them to take photos from a stream of video. Many models also carry special amplifier chips from subsidiary Beats Audio, allowing them to produce better sound quality.

It remains to be seen whether the new devices and special hardware is sufficient to lure the fickle consumer electronics market. Another quarter has come and gone, and HTC is left still trying to recapture the magic that allowed it to grow wildly from a company who made other companies' smartphones, to a first-party devicemaker and household brand name.

Source: HTC [via Engadget]

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I'm shocked

By bug77 on 10/8/2012 10:45:36 AM , Rating: 2

Could this be a sign that people don't actually change phones to get the newest OS version? Or that you have to, I don't know, advertise?

RE: I'm shocked

By zlandar on 10/8/2012 10:59:50 AM , Rating: 2

Or maybe some people have quality issues with HTC.

I had an HTC Tilt. Twice I had the cable that connects to the screen come loose causing the screen to go white. First time I was under warranty. Second time I was SOL.

Tried taking it apart. Got the cable to work, but broke it trying to put it back together.

Never buying another HTC product.

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RE: I'm shocked

By anactoraaron on 10/8/2012 11:19:34 AM , Rating: 2

Or the Sensation with the antenna issue (where you have to bend 2 small pins to fix) or the dust behind the screen, or the back cover not attaching/connecting all the way to the phone after a year only taking it off to clean inside it once a month (to prevent the dust on the screen issue)- now the phone 'flexes' slightly when pressed at the release point for the back cover...

Then when I lost the charging cable and bought a new HTC charger the usb portion of the charger failed in less than a week...

Yeah their QC/design flaws are at fault here. Also I don't feel the 'I guess people don't buy new phones to upgrade OS' doesn't really apply to HTC as I see them as being the best for actually updating their phones.

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RE: I'm shocked

By othercents on 10/8/2012 11:36:26 AM , Rating: 3

I think advertising plays a big part since Samsung is selling plenty of Galaxy S IIIs. Then you have the "recommend" devices by the staff at the AT&T stores. These people are also part of the decision making process and probably recommend Samsung over HTC.

I have seen both devices and the Samsung as features that is making someone who purchase the HTC upset that he didn't wait for the Samsung Galaxy S III.

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RE: I'm shocked

By name99 on 10/8/2012 3:56:58 PM , Rating: 2

Oh my.
You mean that Android buyers are swayed by marketing in EXACTLY the same way as the Apple "sheeple"? And they can no longer sneer down their noses at people who choose iPhones as mindless zombies driven by advertising?

Say it isn't so!

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RE: I'm shocked

By Belard on 10/8/2012 11:27:29 PM , Rating: 2

I bought the Motorola Atrix HD based on research and playing with the phones. The HTC One X has a better camera, but that is about it. Same $100 pice. Even if the galaxy S3 was $100, I would have still gone for the Atrix HD.

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RE: I'm shocked

By sprockkets on 10/8/2012 9:33:07 PM , Rating: 2

Funny, don't have the dust issue, don't have the creak issue (though my friend did and can get it fixed whenever he wants), and never had antenna issues.

Hey, YMMV. I think their software issues though with the EVO did them in.

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RE: I'm shocked

By andrewaggb on 10/9/2012 12:32:56 PM , Rating: 2

Probably lots of people who haven't gotten OS updates, or poor battery life, weak speaker, insufficient space, etc.

I've mostly enjoyed my htc phones, but they've all had issues and I haven't been impressed by htc's support of existing devices. They just make a 'new' phone every couple months.

At this point, I'd get a GSIII or Note 2, iPhone 5, or a Windows 8 phone because I know they'll get OS updates and support.

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RE: I'm shocked

By Sivar on 10/8/2012 3:23:07 PM , Rating: 2

If quality issues were the problem, Samsung wouldn't be in the lead. Remember the Galaxy S?

"utterly broken and non-functional... this is a problem for which there's no reasonable explanation why it made it all the way to retail devices." --Engadget

"The phone will take an inordinate amount of time to determine your actual location, and/or it won’t pinpoint your location very accurately." --Anandtech

Samsung never fixed the GPS or other problems, and never offered a replacement or otherwise did anything to correct the junk they'd sold millions of.

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RE: I'm shocked

By Belard on 10/8/2012 11:37:34 PM , Rating: 2

Had a galaxy S1... Never really liked it. One of the reasons I went with Motorola. The GPS never worked. Forever for updates.

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RE: I'm shocked

By silverblue on 10/9/2012 8:44:25 AM , Rating: 2

I had more luck with mine, though luck obviously played its part. Occasionally, it wouldn't get a fix, but at other times, I watched the navigation cursor get closer and closer until it was within a couple of metres. My Lumia 800 is massively improved in this area, however the best thing about the Galaxy S was its sound quality and the 800 cannot hope to touch it.

My girlfriend has two HTC Desires, the second being a result of thinking she'd lost the first and getting it locked. Both have very dodgy charge ports, and I don't think she's been hammering them as she "lost" the first quite early on. Still, that's the only fault.

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RE: I'm shocked

By RealTheXev on 10/8/2012 12:13:09 PM , Rating: 3

I have no clue when the last time HTC advertised on national TV. I'm praying that HTC goes all in with Verizon on the 8 series phones with Windows Phone 8.

I agree with other users that some of the Touch Pro series of keyboard phones had cable issues, and this HTC 7 Pro I got off eBay recently has a broken hinge piece issue that my buddies Arrive also has..

My primary phone for the last year has been then HTC Trophy on Verizon, and I love this thing to death. Sure, I bought a case for it that turns it into a tank, but as far as updates are concerned, ever since 8107 Mango hit, we on Verizon have gotten every WP7 update on the day it hit all other carriers/GSM euro models, and that includes driver updates to the phone as well.

Meanwhile Sprint users got shafted with Arrive, and Sprint is staying away from Windows 8 phones completely.

While I'm disappointed that the Nokia 920 will be exclusively on the evil blue network, this will force my hand if the 8 series Windows Phones are on Verizon, as Samsungs outdated metal business phone design reminds me too much of the dreaded HTC Arrive.

All you people off in Droid land.. I really could care less about you since HTCs support of Windows Phone has been top notch, and my experience with my Trophy has made me likely to at least look at HTC in the future.

If I based my opinion on my crap HTC Droid Eris, I'd prob have the same opinion as the rest of you though. Lol

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RE: I'm shocked

By anactoraaron on 10/8/2012 5:00:44 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
I have no clue when the last time HTC advertised on national TV.

I know no one in their right mind pays attention to commercials, but you obviously don't watch that much TV or don't pay attention to the commercials at all. They are teamed up with AT&T right now (quite for some time actually) and have been advertising the One X.

If I have to see that damn goat kicking that guy's pack off the cliff one more time...

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HTC's biggest problem...

By thinlizzy on 10/8/2012 11:21:59 AM , Rating: 2

I've had HTC Hero and now I have HTC Desire HD.
I would buy HTC One X + but I am unsure due to weak battery. 2100mah on a 1.7 quadcore and 4.7 screen...For me that is the biggest turn off with HTC - weak battery. If they would put 2500mah in One X+ I'd order it tomorrow.

RE: HTC's biggest problem...

By bug77 on 10/8/2012 11:46:58 AM , Rating: 2

Reasons to criticize are plenty, regardless of the manufacturer. I hate waiting a year for an update, for example.
But HTC seems to have no strategy. Why would you buy HTC? Why would you recommend some to buy HTC? Because of Beats? Sense?

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RE: HTC's biggest problem...

By ReloadAO on 10/9/2012 7:45:11 AM , Rating: 2

I have DHD too and I'm very disappointed in their decision to not upgrade it to ICS. I can never suggest HTC phone anymore.

On the other side it encourage me to root my DHD and install there new 4.1 Jelly bean.

Anyway fcuk HTC

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This is a sign that apple is killing competition with bans

By TheJian on 10/8/2012 4:55:11 PM , Rating: 2

If they hadn't been held up at the border for 2 months maybe they would have sold a crapload of phones since what was held up was going to be a hit at the time. Apple managed to get customs to hold up HTC's phones despite the fact that they had no infringing code in them. Witness samsung selling 20 million phones in 100days. So in 60 days you could sell how many hot HTC phones? By the time customs let them go they were already caught and not so special anymore. In effect, they ruined HTC's launch party. I hope that plucky little chinese company that has a patent on iphone5 sues the crap out of them and is totally unreasonable. Where did they go anyway? Were the circulated pictures fake, or they just waiting for mass quantities to be sold so they can sue for whatever they make on them?

Did anyone ever see info posted on if it was REALLY patented and more importantly was it done in the USA also or just china? Was it all a late april fools joke? :)

Regardless Apple needs to die. :)

RE: This is a sign that apple is killing competition with bans

By inperfectdarkness on 10/9/2012 2:41:43 AM , Rating: 2

Agreed. This is the very first thing that popped into my mind. HTC is a "little guy" in the industry, and dealing with Apple took a lot of wind out of their sails. That's probably where the "Advertising Budget" went.

Some of the comments on this topic seem to blame HTC for not being competitive...but HTC is not RIM. You may stupidly laugh when RIM and HTC die off, but when the phone market dwindles down to 3 or even 2 players...people are going to feel it; both in their wallets and with the freedom they want from their smartphone.

DIAF Apple.

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HTC 8X *would* be great if...

By Kyuu on 10/8/2012 3:50:57 PM , Rating: 2

I'm sure I'm not the only one who looked at the HTC 8X and thought it was a great phone with a lot to recommend it... until I got to the part about 16GB NAND with no microSD. That's simply not good enough for a flagship device anymore. Either add more NAND or add a microSD slot. Or both. Only Apple can get away with that (and at least they have 32/64GB models, for those dumb enough to pay $100 for $5-$10 worth of memory).

Oh, and they should probably consider advertising a bit.

"Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be." -- Steve Ballmer