HTC has just released their Q1 sales reports and they are far from good
HTC has just released their March 2013 sales reports showing slight improvement from last month’s net low but an overall dismal performance for March. Sales reached $530 million for March compared to just $384 million in February but they are still down by 48% when compared to March 2012. These sales figures are far from being sustainable and if they continue for too long, HTC will have some very big issues.
While these monthly reports might seem pretty bad (because they are), the Q1 2013 report which was also just released, is far worse than either of the individual months. HTC had just $2.8 million in net income for Q1 which is down 98%. Analysts had expected their net income to reach close to $20 million, and being down by close to 90% is quite a downfall.
HTC is blaming these results on the HTC One which was not able to get pushed out before the close of Q1. With the release of the One and the First, HTC should be able to turn things around for the second quarter. Analysts are conflicted as to whether or not the HTC One will rebound sales especially since an unsuccessful launch of the First could result in HTC digging an even deeper hole.
The First Facebook phone certainly has a lot of control over HTC’s ability to come back with a strong Q2. The One will still lead sales but will have less of an impact than it would have had if HTC had fully launched the device in Q1.
If HTC does not come back in Q2 then it is likely that they will end up facing major losses and extreme disappointment from investors. While the One was able to come out right before the end of Q1, it was entirely HTC’s fault that they only launched the device in three countries instead of the expected eighty.