HTC forecasts record phone shipments

HTC Corp, Asia's second-largest phone maker by market value, forecast record shipments and revenue as demand rises for touchscreen phones and the company builds its brand in China. Third-quarter revenue will be about NT$137 billion (Dh17.45 billion), with shipments climbing to 13.5 million units, the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company said in a statement today. The average of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg is for sales of NT$135 billion. Demand for phones with touchscreens and faster download speeds continues to push HTC to record revenue and shipments, while lower prices are driving profit margins down. A patent dispute with Apple Inc. has prompted the company to spend more than $375 million acquiring patents this year, and could hamper sales and profits. "They announced a lot of new products in the second quarter, so keeping that growth momentum going is a key challenge," Aaron Jeng, who rates HTC "buy" at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Taipei said before the announcement. "The patent cases are a shadow over the company not just for investors, but for operators who may ask ‘what if I can't sell your products in the future?'" Article continues below Patent suit HTC stock has fallen 31 per cent since April 29 as the Apple patent suit and concerns over growth momentum weigh on investor sentiment. The shares lost 4.8 per cent to NT$858 before the outlook announcement. Shipments in the second quarter climbed to a record 12.1 million units while the average price per unit fell to NT$10,055, the lowest in at least three years.