HTC reports its first ever drop in profits

TAIWANESE PHONE MAKER HTC has announced its first ever drop in profits of nearly 26 per cent.

The firm has released disappointing figures for the last quarter of 2011 with net income after tax of New Taiwan (NT) $11.02mn. By comparison in the same quarter in 2010 it recorded net income of NT$14.8mn, a drop of 25.5 per cent.

Its fourth quarter revenue also fell by 2.5 per cent, reporting NT$101.42mn compared to NT$104.01mn in 2010. November was a particularly poor month for the company, which saw year-on-year revenue fall 19.6 per cent.

However, HTC is keen to point out that year-on-year growth for January to November was up by 78.9 per cent with NT$439.4mn in revenue.

It was a busy year for the smartphone and tablet maker, which saw it pump out scores of handsets and it bought a majority stake in Beats Audio. That technology along with the branding is now found on most of its devices.

HTC also locked horns with Apple in legal battles over patents in 2011. µ