HTC in free fall

Dismal sales come despite flood of new products.

HTC has seen its profit plummet for the third quarter in a row as it struggles to garner sufficient sales in a smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung.

The $A28 billion Taiwanese company reported a 58 percent drop in Q2 net income this year to $NT7.4 billion (A$234 million), compared to $NT17.52 billion for the previous corresponding period. 

The results continue a worrying trend for HTC, which reported a 70 percent drop in net income for Q1 this year, and a 26 percent fall for Q4 last year. Q2 revenue for 2012 came in at NT$91.04 billion, compared to NT$124.4 billion in 2011.

For Q3 this year, HTC has forecast a similarly dismal result with revenues predicted to come in at between NT$70 and NT$80 billion, compared with NT$135.8 billion in the third quarter of 2011. 

HTC's poor sales come despite a flurry of new product launches, which saw six new HTC smartphones enter the Australian market this year alone.

The latest smartphone in HTC’s One series, the One V, landed in Australia in early July. It was preceeded by the One S two weeks prior, as well as three 4G models earlier in the year.