HTC today reported a net loss of NT$ 3.1 billion ($100 million) or loss of NT$3.77 per share, on revenue of NT$ 22.2 billion ($720.7 million) for its fiscal 2016 fourth quarter that ended December 31, 2016. This is the seventh consecutive loss for the company. Operating profit was down 12.1% year-on-year to NT$ 3.6 billion ($116.8 million) with operating margin of -16.0%.
HTC said that it saw robust sales performance in Q4, with quarterly revenue improving sequentially over 2016. In Q4 HTC launched HTC 10 evo globally and the HTC Desire 10 pro and lifestyle edition
phones that entered select markets have been well received, said the company.
HTC also said that its virtual reality business with sales of its first VR headset, the HTC Vive starting last April was still in the early stages and had contributed only a small fraction to its 2016 sales.
It reported a 35.77% annual drop in consolidated sales to NT$78.16 billion but said it had managed to cut costs by 34% by better managing its internal resources.
Chang Chia-lin, president of HTC’s smartphone and connected device operations told that he has confidence in the company’s new smartphone products – HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play to boost HTC’s gross margin in the first quarter of 2017.
“While the company might report a net loss in the first quarter of this year, it would be smaller because of sales of new HTC models,” he said.