It’s a tale of diverging fortunes. While HTC continues to struggle to remain relevant (much as BlackBerry is), Samsung is once again soaring to new heights. While one posted its first ever loss since going public, the other posted another record quarter.
As it had warned when it announced its Q2 financial results, HTC today confirmed that it has posted its first ever loss since going public in 2002. The company recorded an operating loss of NT$3.50 billion (about CA$123 million) on revenues of NT$47.05 billion (about CA$1.66 billion).
In Q2, HTC had indicated that third quarter revenues could be as low as NT$50 billion. The fact that they came in even lower suggests that even HTC did not expect sales to drop off as much as they have. Whether upcoming devices such as the HTC One max can help it turn its fortunes around remains to be seen.
As for Samsung, it today announced its earnings guidance for Q3 2013. It expects revenues to come in at ₩59 trillion (about CA$57 billion) with an operating profit of ₩10.1 trillion (about CA$9.7 billion). This would be another record for the company and one that comes as many expect that the high-end smartphone market is beginning to cool as consumers gravitate towards cheaper offerings.
We’ll get a better look at how well Samsung’s mobile group did when the company releases its final financial results.
Can HTC stop the slide and can anyone stop Samsung from setting another record next quarter?