HTC reports 79 percent fall in net profit in Q3

With smartphone companies turning up the heat in the race for market share, Taiwan-based HTC Corp’s strategy of reducing its number of models in the smartphone market and focusing on the mid- and high-end segments seems to be off the mark. The world's fifth-largest smartphone maker recently revealed to Reuters that its Q3 2012 net profit has fallen 79 percent, missing forecasts. This fall can mostly be attributed to its flagship phones failing to keep pace with Apple Inc's iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy range.The company stated that its unaudited July-September net profit was NT$3.9 billion ($133.17 million), down from NT$18.68 billion in the same quarter last year, and NT$7.4 billion in Q2 2012. It did not elaborate. Earnings had been expected to drop to NT$5.57 billion, according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey of 21 analysts. HTC's third-quarter revenue was NT$70.2 billion. The company said in August it expected its third-quarter revenue to be NT$70 billion to NT$80 billion, compared to NT$91 billion in the second quarter.