Taiwanese smartphone vendor HTC Corp said on Sunday it made a net profit of T$0.3 billion ($10 million) in the fourth quarter of 2013, missing expectations despite a one-time asset sale and cost cuts to offset years of falling sales amid intense competition. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had expected a net profit of T$721.71 million for a quarter during which the firm that once dominated Taiwan's phone making industry was convulsed by a wave of senior executive departures. The October-December figure compares to a net loss of T$2.97 billion in the previous three months - HTC's first-ever quarterly loss as companies like Samsung Electronics Co Inc and Xiaomi Inc increased their share of the global smartphone market. In the fourth quarter of 2012 it made a net profit of T$1.01 billion.



More...