HTC's One A9 buoys the ailing company to 6-month revenue peak
The Taiwanese smartphone pioneer has posted improved revenue off the back of the release of its One A9 smartphone.
HTC has been having a particularly rough year, but showed some signs of life in November.
Thanks to the iPhone-esque One A9, which was released in late October, the Taiwanese company enjoyed a 6-month revenue peak during November, bringing in NT$10.29 billion ($314 million, AU$435 million or £209 million). This represents a 15 percent month-on-month growth from October.
It may seem a small victory, but it's one the smartphone brand needs right now. A combination of competition from Apple and Samsung in the premium market and Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Huawei in budget and midrange sectors has seen HTC's market share crumble from 11 percent back in 2011 to around 2 percent now.
The company's faltering position was made evident in September, when it was removed from the Taiwan Stock Exchange's FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 Index, which lists the 50 most valuable Taiwanese blue chip stocks. It followed HTC's August announcement that it would cut 15 percent of its workforce to cut costs.
All is not well for the company though -- November's revenue is still 40 percent lower than it was during the same period in 2014.
Alongside Valve Corporation, HTC has this year been working on the Vive virtual reality headset, with which it hopes to diversify its revenue stream. The VR device is set for a mainstream release early next year, and will compete with Sony's Playstation VR and the Facebook-backed Oculus Rift.