HTC Corp announced a net loss for the third quarter on Friday, its first since floating in 2002, on falling smartphone sales.
Consolidated revenues from July to September were 47.05 billion Taiwan dollars ($1.605 billion), falling short of its target of 50 billion Taiwan dollars, and down 29.3 per cent from the previous quarter, the company said in its unaudited results posting.
Net losses were 2.97 billion Taiwan dollars for the quarter.
Analysts had predicted that Taiwan’s leading smartphone maker would go into the red before the end of the year, citing poor sales of its flagship HTC One smartphone and intensifying competition, a report by state-run Central News Agency said.
Sales were likely to pick up in the fourth quarter with the October launch of the HTC One Max with a larger, 5.9-inch screen, and the Christmas shopping season in the European and North American markets, the report said.