From bad to worse: HTC revenues for November have fallen almost 20% year-on-year to NT$30.9 million (approx. $1bn).
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The same figure for 2010 was NT$38.4.
The drop was higher than anticipated – the Taiwanese phone maker previously warned that revenue would fall by up to 8 percent in October-December period compared to Q3, meaning the fall was more than double forecasts.
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However, the latest figures also show total consolidated revenues from January – November period were up almost 80% NT$439,432 compared to last year.
But this latest revenue dip couldn’t come at a worse time for the Taiwanese maker, known as the anti-Apple brand, whose fortunes appears to be taking a negative turn as of late, after a period of massive growth.
Just recently, HTC lost a vital court case against German patent firm IPCom, which could potentially see its Android smartphones like Desire and Sensation banned in one of Europe’s biggest markets.
And not to mention the high profile case the Desire maker recently lost against rivals Apple in the US before the International Trade Commission, and could also face a total ban on sale of its Android devices if Cupertino, who accuse HTC of major patent infringements, has its way.
This would mean red alert for HTC, in one of its single biggest markets globally.
HTC alleged Apple infringed four patents belonging to S3 Graphics, a company it recently acquired for US$300 million, which it had hoped to use the company’s patent artillery in the ongoing legal battle against Cupertino.
HTC now says they are reviewing the acquisition following the ITC decision favouring Apple.
But the phone maker has been busy spending its millions elsewhere and also recently purchased Beats Audio for US$300m, video game streamer OnLive, developer Zoodle, as well as cloud service firm Dashwire for US$18.5m, which could boost long term prospects and could also go some way towards explaining the major drop in its financials.
HTC declined to state the reason behind the revenue dip, in a statement yesterday.
This November revenue drop also comes just days after HTC slashed its fourth-quarter outlook.
Company shares have free falled 60% in recent months. Shares fell 4% for NT455.00 in Taiwan after the latest bad news.
