HTC revenue down, but expects to bounce back

HTC has said that it expects to record lower than forecast revenue for Q1, according to Reuters. The news follows its revenue dipping last October for the first time after it had experienced spectacular growth over 2010 and most of 2011. At the time, the launch of the iPhone 4S was thought to have had an impact on its performance, however, it is arguable that the rapid rise of Samsung as the leading Android player has damaged HTC’s income stream more.

HTC’s shares, which have dropped 42 percent over the past year, are likely to take a further dive on the news that it expects revenue to decline by as much as 36 percent over the first quarter. The company is forecasting that its will generate total revenue in the order of $2.2 - $2.4 billion where analysts had expected the company to generate up to $3 billion. HTC also slipped from the fourth largest maker of smartphones to fifth largest.

However, the company remained up beat ahead of the World Mobile Congress and believes that its problems are only “short term.” It is expected to roll out two headlining smartphones at the show, including the rumored ultra-slim HTC Ville as well as another quad-core device codenamed Edge. The HTC Ville will center on a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel camera and run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It is also expected to reveal to two more devices, although these are said to be mid-range devices.

However, whether these devices will be able to steal consumer attention back from Samsung, which is expected to debut the Galaxy S III this year, or the iPhone which is selling in record numbers remains to be seen. "It can be turned around," says Melissa Chau for analytics firm IDC. "But the problem remains the same: How are they going to differentiate?"

By Electronista Staff