“Taiwan’s HTC Corp slid into the red for the first time in the third quarter, adding to the case for the troubled smartphone maker to abandon its prized independence and reach out for a white knight soon,” Michael Gold reports for Reuters. “Like other strugglers in the sector, HTC has been laid low by the product and marketing might of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd – woes that have been exacerbated by supply chain constraints and internal turmoil.”
“But where Nokia Oyj has fallen into the arms of Microsoft Corp and Blackberry Ltd is now in play with one disclosed offer and another being considered, HTC has stuck to its guns that it is not for sale despite what analysts call an increasingly bleak outlook,” Gold reports. “HTC posted a quarterly operating loss of T$3.5 billion ($120 million) on Friday as sales tumbled by a third from a year earlier.”
“Responding to growing speculation about a possible merger, Cher Wang, HTC’s low-profile chairwoman and co-founder, has repeatedly ruled out selling the company and has said a low share price did not bother her,” Gold reports. “Chief Executive Peter Chou’s abrasive management style and weak strategic vision have played their part in the company’s decline, according to a interviews with a dozen former and current HTC executives. Chou has declined to be interviewed, but in response to Reuters queries, the company said: ‘HTC’s board and broad employee base remain committed to Peter Chou’s leadership.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: They remain committed to riding the rusty hulk right into the bottom with Chou at the helm when they should have ballmerized him years ago.
The [iPhone] design is quite weak; it’s very, very basic… [HTC has] a huge advantage. – HTC CEO Peter Chou, September, 2007
Related articles:
Beleaguered HTC sees Q3 revenue sliding as much as 30 percent, missing forecasts – July 30, 2013
Beleaguered HTC profit plunges 91% – January 7, 2013
Apple and HTC settle global patent battle – November 11, 2012
More blood on Apple iPad’s touchscreen: HTC exits U.S. tablet market – October 10, 2012
Boom! Apple sues HTC for infringing on 20 iPhone patents – March 2, 2010
HTC CEO Chou sees ‘huge advantage’ over Apple iPhone, calls Apple’s phone design ‘quite weak’ – September 11, 2007
Another forward thinking CEO.
Everyone is looking forward all right, but with the plane in a nose dive.
Steve Jobs realized that after the Mac interface loss of market to MS, that if you came up with a market changing innovation, you put the whole company behind it and put so much resources and commitment to continued innovation that you would stay on the top tier of 2 or 3 players and hopefully stay #1.
It worked.
“HTC has been laid low by the product and marketing might of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd”
I see more marketing from HTC than just about anybody else, only coming second to Samsung. They probably spent the $120 million that they lost sponsoring Champions League football.
I guess Robert Downey Jr didn’t help much.
I don’t think they would be in this mess had they remained an OEM phone maker for other companies.
At least the captain of the Titanic eventually knew they hit an iceberg and were going down. This guy’s captain of a sinking ship and he STILL has no clue. Sad…
Me thinks Cher Wang would do a better job than Peter (two) Chou’s. I wonder if HTC’s board has drunk the same kool aid that M$’s board have? Who knows, Mr (two) Chou’s could have spiked their drinks!!!!
Palm, Motorola, Nokia, Blackberry, HTC, …
who’s next ? LG or Sony?
LG and Sony long ago slid into irrelevance after losing money. They have survived by being propped up by other divisions. Notice, the other companies you mention were primarily cellphone mfrs.
Too bad for them out of all the Android handset builders out there they might be the best one in terms of quality and design.
It’s all Apple from here on out
Yes any perceived Android advantage has peaked (except for the terminally clueless) and on the downside of the hill. Full speed ahead Apple!
And with all these failures dropping out, the stupid Euro MP’s now asking for a standard phone charger for all makes, ass holes
Clue to HTC:
Don’t let Microsoft near you! It’s the touch of DEATH!