Taiwan's HTC reports record Q2 profits

Taiwan's leading smartphone maker HTC said Friday second quarter net profits more than doubled year on year to a record high on strong demand for newly designed products. Net profit in the three months to June rose 102.9 percent to Tw$17.52 billion ($604 million), while revenue surged 104.1 percent to Tw$124.4 billion in the fifth consecutive quarter of growth. "Consumer reactions to our designs have driven us to another record-breaking quarter," said chief executive officer Peter Chou. HTC sold 12.1 million smartphones in the second quarter, a 24.8 percent rise from the previous three months and it expected third quarter shipments to grow 98 percent year-on-year to 13.5 million units. It also forecast revenue in the three months to September to rise 10 percent quarter-on-quarter and 80 percent year-on-year to Tw$137 billion. HTC touts its own brand of smartphones and also makes handsets for a number of leading US companies, including the Nexus One unveiled by Google. The company said its growing brand recognition and newly launched phones at both the entry level and high end of the market continued to drive sales and revenues. Earnings per share in the second quarter was Tw$21.69 while gross margins were 28.8 percent, it said in a statement.