The widening gap between HTC’s and Samsung’s fortunes was on display today as the competing handset makers reported financial results.
The news was grim for HTC, who has been losing ground in recent quarters to Samsung’s Galaxy line of Android devices and Apple’s iPhone.
The Taiwanese handset manufacturer saw its profits fall by more than half during the second quarter to $250 million, from $590 million during the same period last year. Sales declined to $3.04 billion from $4.6 billion last year. The company did not release information about handset shipments.
In contrast, Samsung’s estimated second quarter results pegged sales at $41 billion with operating profits of $5.9 billion, both numbers posting healthy increases over last year. Even so, the numbers fell slightly short of investor expectations.
HTC is banking on its new One series to reverse declining sales. It launched the One V this week at U.S. Cellular, Virgin Mobile USA and 27 regional operators represented by the Associated Carriers Group. It also began selling the Droid Incredible 4G LTE at Verizon Wireless on Thursday.
The Android devices face steep competition from the iPhone and Samsung’s popular line of Galaxy smartphones, including its newly released Galaxy S III.
CEO Peter Chou said last quarter that the company was coming out of a “rebuilding period” that would take HTC into its “next phase of growth.” The company’s second quarter results weren’t as disasterous as its first quarter numbers, but are a far cry from the record-breaking earnings it reported last year.
The turnaround effort has been complicated by slumping demand stemming from the European economic crisis and a temporary U.S. import ban stemming from a patent dispute with Apple.
HTC recently hired former AT&T executive Mike Woodard to head its operations in the United States and Canada. The executive could help HTC shore up important relationships with operators in the United States, a key market for the company.