Taiwanese handset maker HTC has announced that its Q4 net profit fell 31% year-on-year, as the vendor suffered from intensifying market competition.
Reuters.
Revenue fell 13.2% to NT$41.08 billion, squarely in the middle of the company's forecast that was revealed in November.
For the full year, the company reported a net profit of NT$22.65 billion, from revenue of NT$144.89 billion.
But the company's fortunes were showing signs of improving by the end of the year, when HTC reported its first year-on-year profit growth since July.
HTC's development of Google's recently-launched Nexus One handset may also help to reverse the company's ill fortunes, analysts said.
Macquarie Securities has predicted that HTC could ship 2 million Nexus Ones this year. But Citigroup has warned that HTC could accrue lower profit margins from the handset – and its lower price relative to most of HTC's current smartphone offerings could also serve to drive down prices across HTC's range.