The last few years have not been too kind to HTC, considered one of the spearheaders of early Android smartphones. But it appears that the Taiwanese phone maker is turning things around.
For the final quarter of the year 2014, the company is reporting its first quarterly revenue growth in three years. Indeed, HTC has registered fourth quarter sales amounting to $1.5 billion, a slight increase but an improvement nonetheless from the $1.34 billion sales reported in the fourth quarter of the previous year. As for the company's net profit, it managed $14.7 million for the quarter.
As reported by Bloomberg, the revenue growth can be attributed to HTC's introduction of new mid-range smartphones that helped greatly in neutralizing competition from premium smartphone offerings (like Apple's new iPhone models, for instance).
The revenue growth may not be a reflection of how successful HTC's flagship device, the One (M8), has been doing. On the contrary, it has more likely to do with how well the company's Desire line of smartphones has been selling all throughout the last quarter, particularly in China and other Asian regions.
Of course, HTC is not just putting forth mid-range options for mobile devices out there. Its collaboration with Google in building the Nexus 9 tablet suggests that the Taiwan-based mobile manufacturer is also capable of offering high-end devices. Additionally, being associated with Google is always a positive, especially when you are known for making quality Android phones (although HTC does make a handset that runs on Windows Phone every now and then).
Despite registering its first quarterly revenue growth in years, HTC still has its work cut out for it. Annual revenues for 2014 is still low compared to 2013's and the years before. But HTC has been clearly making an effort to cut costs for the most part of 2014. If the company can sustain that in 2015, HTC should put itself in a good position to succeed in the new year.
And make no mistake about it -- the competition will be tough in 2015. Not only will HTC contend with popular brands like Apple and Samsung, the company will also have to try to combat up-and-comers like Xiaomi and other Chinese phone makers, who have succeeded in gaining some market share by introducing budget-friendly smartphones in the global market.
While HTC's latest offerings have been met warmly with good reviews by industry experts, they haven't exactly attracted tons of buyers. In order to stay relevant in 2015, HTC will have to double its efforts.
